ORLEN boosts its onshore wind portfolio
The ORLEN Group has just completed a transaction to purchase the Ujazd, Dobrzyca, and Dominowo wind farms, with a combined capacity in excess of 140 MW. The final purchase agreement, signed with EDP Renewables Poland, encompasses some of Poland’s most high-performing onshore units. The transaction marks another significant addition this year to the Group’s expanding portfolio of renewable energy assets. With this latest development, the ORLEN Group now boasts an extensive onshore wind farm capacity of nearly 500 MW, reinforcing its position as the frontrunner in the Polish renewable energy sector.
“At ORLEN, we’re executing a consistent strategy dedicated to delivering low-carbon and affordable energy to the people of Poland. Onshore wind farms are pivotal to our mission, and today’s agreement marks a significant milestone boosting our generation capacity with the addition of state-of-the-art wind turbines. This investment has brought our installed capacity in onshore wind farms up to a remarkable 500 MW, firmly establishing the ORLEN Group as a leading contributor to Poland’s energy transition,” comments Daniel Obajtek, CEO and President of the Management Board of ORLEN.
The recently completed transaction with EDP Renewables encompasses the acquisition of three wind farms located in the region of Greater Poland, near Dobrzyca (49.9 MW), Ujazd (30 MW), and Dominowo (62.4 MW).Of particular note is the Dominowo wind farm, which features Vestas V136 turbines, towering up to a height of 166 metres, with rotor blades extending up to 76.2 metres, ranking among the largest onshore turbines operating in Poland. Collectively, these wind farms, with a combined capacity of 142 MW, will generate electricity capable of powering approximately 240 thousand households.What’s even more promising is the potential for further expansion. Utilising the existing grid connection through cable pooling, it will be possible to introduce photovoltaic installations with a total capacity of approximately 160 MW,which is an added advantage of these newly acquired assets. The direct owner of the wind farms is ORLEN Wind 3.
The farms in Ujazd, Dobrzyca and Dominowo represent another stride in the ORLEN Group’s commitment to wind energy development in Greater Poland. The Przykona wind farm, with a capacity of about 33 MW, owned by Energa Wytwarzanie of the ORLEN Group, is already operational in the region. In October 2023, the Group also announced a conditional agreement to acquire two wind farms from the UK-based Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust PLC, with a combined capacity of 60 MW. One of them, Kuślin, is located in the Province of Poznań, near the town of Nowy Tomyśl, while the other, Krzęcin, is located in the Province of Szczecin, near Choszczno. The transaction is expected to be finalised later this year.
Furthermore, in July of this year, Energa Wytwarzanie signed a preliminary agreement with Greenvolt for the purchase of the 26 MW Sompolno wind farm, also situated in Greater Poland. The facility is set to become operationally ready by mid-2024.
In the previous year, onshore wind farms operating within the ORLEN Group collectively generated nearly 747 GWh of electricity. With the inclusion of the latest acquisition from EDP Renewables, the Group now boasts a robust portfolio of 13 onshore wind farms.
By the close of this decade, it targets an impressive 9 GW of installed renewable energy capacity. In addition to onshore wind and solar photovoltaic sources, it is actively spearheading developments in the offshore wind sector. The Group has recently reached the Final Investment Decision (FID) to build Baltic Power, Poland’s first offshore wind farm. The project, set to bolster Poland’s energy system through the addition of nearly 1.2 GW in 2026, will be pursued in partnership with Canada’s Northland Power. Baltic Power will deliver sustainable, accessible energy to an estimated 1.5 million households.
Also, the Group has recently achieved a significant milestone by securing licences for the construction of an additional five offshore wind farms, set to collectively deliver 5.2 GW. Among the five licences, four are situated on the Oder Bank near Kołobrzeg, and the fifth one is situated on the Słupsk Bank, bordering the area where the Baltic Power farm is currently under construction.