On 29th February 2024, the Instrat team had the pleasure of hosting the “Offshore Wind: Grid and Infrastructure Development” Capacity Building Workshop in Warsaw. Within the BlueCEE project framework, we welcomed our partners from Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, and Romania to increase the knowledge of stakeholders about the local and cross-regional aspects of the intersection of offshore wind power, infrastructure and power grid development. We also explored factors and challenges that might require further action.
Key take-aways from the discussions
- Offshore wind power will play a major part in the transformation of the Polish power system, but its implementation requires clear national strategic goals, stable regulatory and financial framework, as well as wide cross-sectoral cooperation.
- To fully capture the benefits of the offshore wind, we have to plan further expansion of electrical grids, taking into account advanced power transmission technologies such as high-voltage direct current lines, exploring the potential of locational pricing or power-to-X technologies such as green hydrogen, improving cross-border connection with neighboring friendly countries.
- Ambitious project pipeline envisioned by Polish 2030 and 2040 goals can support the development of various domestic-related industries with significant export potential. This is also an opportunity for smaller Polish ports, which will be used for maintenance of offshore wind farms for decades to come, providing much-needed economic activity in cities like Władysławowo or Ustka.
- European offshore wind value chain can improve our energy security and ensure stable conditions for ambitious build-up envisioned by the EU targets, but prioritizing Polish or European local content could increase the immediate investment costs. Careful regulatory intervention, based on multifactorial assessment, is thus needed both on the European and national level.
The full agenda for the event can be found here.
About the BlueCEE project
The event was organised as part of the BLUECEE – Strengthening Policy and Governance Capacity for Blue Energy in Central and Eastern Europe project. The project aims to strengthen the capacity and readiness for multi-level governance of sustainable energy deployment in Bulgaria, Croatia, Poland, and Romania in the region of the Black-Adriatic-Baltic Sea. Thus, reinforcing Europe’s leadership in the sector. To achieve this goal, BLUECEE creates a knowledge repository, policy advocacy, and outreach instrument: the Black Sea Renewable Energy Coalition platform. Instrat Foundation is working with stakeholders from Croatia (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture, University of Zagreb), Romania (Energy Policy Group), and Bulgaria (Center for the Study of Democracy).
