Polish energy giant ORLEN has conditionally agreed to purchase two wind farms from a company owned by the UK’s Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust PLC. The facilities, which have a combined capacity of approximately 60 MW, are located in the Wielkopolska and West Pomeranian provinces. Launched in 2022, they produce enough energy to power more than 100,000 households annually. Upon the deal’s completion, ORLEN will have nearly 1 GW of installed capacity in renewable sources.
“We are effectively achieving our strategic goals that assume obtaining 9 GW of installed capacity in renewable energy sources by 2030. We are examining all attractive projects that appear on the market. In this way, our portfolio will soon include another two wind farms with a total capacity of approximately 60 MW. These are modern units with great potential, which will produce cheap and clean energy for the next few decades. Poles and Polish economy will benefit from this, thanks to our consistent investments in modern and clean energy sources that continually strengthen their competitiveness,” said Daniel Obajtek, the CEO of ORLEN.
The transaction carried out by ORLEN Group includes the purchase of two onshore wind farms. The first one, named Kuślin, is located in Wielkopolska, near Nowy Tomyśl. This farm was built in December 2022, and its production capabilities are expected to last around 30 years. Its total installed capacity is approximately 40 MW and it utilizes 12 Vestas turbines, each of 2.4 MW. The second farm, Krzęcin, is located in West Pomeranian province, near Choszczno. It was launched in February 2022, with its lifespan also estimated at 30 years. The farm consists of 8 Nordex turbines with a capacity of 3.3 MW each, and its total installed capacity exceeds 19 MW.
The conditional purchase agreement for the farms was made by ORLEN Wind 3, a company within the ORLEN Group. The transaction is expected to be finalized within this year.
The ORLEN Group continues its investments in renewable energy sources in Wielkopolska, with a wind farm and a photovoltaic farm already in operation. Additionally, in July, ORLEN signed a conditional agreement with EDP Renewables Polska to purchase three wind farms located in Wielkopolska.
In the meantime, ORLEN is also investing in the construction of Poland’s first offshore wind farm, with a capacity of up to 1.2 GW, in the Baltic Sea. Dubbed Baltic Power, it is Poland’s most advanced offshore wind project, set to begin generating clean energy by 2026. The project is expected to create new jobs and power more than 1.5 million households in Poland.
Furthermore, in early October, companies from the ORLEN Group acquired five additional licenses to build offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea, potentially adding up to 5.2 GW of capacity. The corporation now has a total of six offshore wind farm sites with a potential of 6.4 GW.
According to its strategy, by the end of 2030, the ORLEN Group aims to have over 9 GW of renewable energy capacity, including offshore and onshore wind farms, photovoltaics, and units generating biogas and biomethane. The corporation will also be utilizing Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) for power generation. Overall, by the end of the decade, the corporation plans to spend 120 billion PLN on green investments, aiming to guarantee affordable, safe and clean energy for the future.
