Poland marked its return to wind energy on Wednesday with the announcement of plans to develop 8 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2035, WindEurope said in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the announcement, the country will soon pass a law to this effect, spelling out the annual volumes up to this date.
'The news came as Poland opened a 1 GW onshore wind energy auction on Monday. A non-exhaustive survey of bidders who took part in the onshore wind auction suggests the prices will be between €43-€63/megawatt hours (MWh),' WindEurope underlined.
The average price is expected to be €51/MWh, which is lower than recent auctions in France which was reported as €65/MWh and Germany at €62.6/MWh.
The auction is expected to be over-subscribed with more than 1 GW of wind farm projects bidding in.
Polish State Secretary for Energy, Grzegorz Tobiszowski, also announced Thursday that another onshore wind auction would take place in the coming months.
WindEurope Chief Policy Officer Pierre Tardieu said building 1 GW of new onshore wind makes perfect economic sense for Poland.
'It’s cheaper than building new coal or nuclear. And we expect prices to be cheaper than recent auctions in France and Germany. Delivering these projects will create jobs and revenue in communities across the country,' Tardieu highlighted.
'Poland’s plans for 8 GW of offshore wind by 2035 are also very encouraging. The Polish Baltic Sea has enormous wind energy potential and it’s great to see Poland beginning to tap into this and boosting their existing offshore wind supply chain. Poland should now include detailed plans on both on- and offshore wind in its National Energy and Climate Plan for 2030. The first draft is due by the end of 2018,' he asserted.
By Gulsen Cagatay
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr