The year 2025 brought important developments for the entire offshore wind energy sector in Poland. One of the projects that saw significant announcements during that very year was the BC-Wind project being developed in Poland by Ocean Winds. It is a project that will generate around 390 MW of clean energy across an area of approximately 91 km², about 23 kilometres from the coast. We spoke with Kacper Kostrzewa, Managing Director of Ocean Winds Poland, about what happened in 2025 and what lies ahead in 2026.

Jakub Milszewski: Let us look at 2025. The most important developments probably came at the end of the year, in December. That was when information emerged that, after years of work on the project, it would actually become a reality. Financing had been agreed and the final investment decision taken – effectively the last stamp of approval before construction begins, correct?

Kacper Kostrzewa: Absolutely. December was indeed an absolutely crucial month for us because of the intensive work involved in closing the financing and securing the internal investment decision. That does not change the fact that the entire year of 2025 was extremely intensive for us, because preparing the documents, materials and analyses that we had actually been working on throughout the entire development phase requires a great deal of time and effort. In that sense, speaking colloquially, we were extremely busy last year. Fortunately, however, we managed to achieve the most important milestone of the development process, namely closing the entire procedure and securing the financing. Construction now lies ahead of us, and it seems to me that in 2026 and the years that follow we will be even busier than before.

Let us talk about the money, because securing funding for such a project is not simply a matter of dipping into a piggy bank. How does one agree financing for projects of such scale and such enormous sums?

It is, of course, a long and complex process. Such processes typically last well over a year and involve a consortium of several, or sometimes even more than a dozen, banks from around the world. That was also the case for us. We had been conducting this process since 2024, throughout the whole of 2025, until we finally managed to close it. This is project finance provided by a total of 15 banks from across the world, amounting to roughly €2 billion. These are enormous sums of money and an investment on a vast scale, which required appropriate preparation, including purely financial preparation. We are pleased that we managed to finalise this financing. Naturally, this allows the project to move into the construction phase and begin to take shape beyond paper plans. It also confirms – particularly in the case of financing from banks such as the EIB – that the project is genuinely ready. It aligns with overall climate policy, aligns with Poland’s objectives, and is sufficiently mature and prepared to actually commence construction. All the risks that we still see at the construction stage are fully acceptable both to us and to external institutions such as banks.

On the one hand we have Ocean Winds, an experienced international developer. On the other hand we have the Polish market, which, although young, is regarded very positively within the offshore wind sector as stable, with solid legislation and favourable conditions. Did that combination already guarantee success, or did banks and financial institutions still have doubts or concerns about risks?

Of course they did. That is entirely normal in any process of this type, not only in markets that are just beginning their offshore journey but also in markets that have been involved in offshore wind for much longer. Naturally, the entire process of discussions with banks involves repeated rounds of questions and answers from the investor concerning the project itself, but also the regulatory environment, the support scheme, and everything related to the Polish market. As we mentioned, Poland is a relatively young market when it comes to offshore wind energy, although there had already been some precedents in terms of financial close. We were fortunate in that we were not the first, which made things slightly easier for us. That does not change the fact that it is always a demanding process. Banks and their advisers ask a great many questions. Given the enormous sums at stake, that should come as no surprise.

You are the first offshore wind developer to use Crist Offshore as a tier-one supplier. Was that not one of the questions raised by the banks?

The entire supply chain is thoroughly examined by the banks providing our financing. The contract with Crist was no exception. Naturally it was also assessed in terms of Crist’s capabilities. However, it seems to me that as Ocean Winds and BC-Wind we went through such a long process with Crist in terms of discussions during the tender process and even before it that we ourselves had confidence they were capable of delivering this type of product. That meant we were able to defend this relatively easily before the banks. So yes, questions were certainly raised, but by using the materials we had prepared internally we were able to provide clearly satisfactory answers.

Let us look at what has happened over the past several months. You have secured the possibility of using the installation terminal in Świnoujście and will also make use of the still-developing T5 terminal in Gdańsk. Monopiles for BC-Wind will sail from Świnoujście, while turbines will be shipped from Gdańsk. Does using two different hubs not create logistical complications?

Naturally it is something of a challenge. Whenever we take over a port we prepare it for the investment. In this case we have two ports that must be prepared in a certain way. We must also prepare ourselves and familiarise ourselves with the structure of each port and learn how to operate there.

In this specific case, considering the location of our wind farm and the time it takes to reach it from port, we concluded that the most sensible solution would be to use both Polish ports. On the one hand this is beneficial for the project itself, but on the other it also provides an impulse for local content, demonstrating that these ports in Poland will also be ready to install offshore wind infrastructure.

Both Crist Offshore and the use of terminals in Gdańsk and Świnoujście are elements of local content – a hot topic for developers across the offshore wind industry. Do we know what percentage of local content there will be in your project?

We are still maintaining the declaration we made at the beginning of the project’s development – between 20 and 30 per cent. I believe we will end up within that range, although we do not yet have precise figures. We must remember that some of the smaller contracts that also make an important contribution to the project’s CAPEX and OPEX have not yet been signed. We have signed all the major contracts enabling us to actually build the wind farm, and they of course represent the bulk of the costs and will therefore have the greatest impact on local content. However, there remains a whole range of other contracts that have not yet been finalised, so we do not want to summarise the figures definitively at this stage. That is one point. The second point is that the industry is still waiting for a coherent methodology for calculating local content so that the results are genuinely measurable and comparable. As far as I am aware, such a methodology does not yet exist today, but work on it is ongoing. Naturally we will be able to adapt to it and calculate according to the adopted method.

We mentioned Świnoujście and Gdańsk, but you will also be present between them, because your operational base will be built in Władysławowo. How are those works progressing? According to the schedule, the base should be ready soon.

Yes, this is absolutely crucial from our perspective. While we must install the wind farm from the ports of Gdańsk and Świnoujście, we will then have to operate it for 30 years from the port of Władysławowo to ensure it continues to function. Those works will begin very soon. We are currently concluding the tender process to select the general contractor and in the spring we would like to begin construction. This will involve not only building our base and the entire associated infrastructure but also certain works within the port itself relating to the quay from which we will operate.

Why Władysławowo? Why not other ports along the central coast which, unlike Władysławowo, were included in the National Recovery Plan for infrastructure development?

We decided that Władysławowo would be our location much earlier than it became known which ports would receive support from the National Recovery Plan. Even if we had known at that time that Władysławowo would not receive that support, we would still have chosen it. There were many factors behind the decision. Above all, location. To put it bluntly, Władysławowo is closest to our site. But location also matters in terms of transport connections – roads, rail links, and access to Gdańsk airport. It is simply the best situated. So a location close to the Tri-City area and close to our wind farm site was key for us. Of course that was not the only factor. We also looked at infrastructure availability and even the local accommodation base. For several months we analysed various options and took everything into account. In fact, in every category Władysławowo came out on top.

I believe Władysławowo also has the potential to become a base for other offshore projects – that will depend on the investors involved – but it also has potential for further development. There has been discussion about the possibility that, if the port is dredged, it could become suitable for SOV vessels used in projects located further offshore. Let us hope that happens, because the potential of this port is enormous. I am pleased that we will have the opportunity to be the first investors in the industry to make use of it.

How many people will ultimately work at your base in Władysławowo? And where will they come from? The proximity of the Tri-City may help here.

It depends somewhat on the stage of the operational phase. On average it will probably be around 30 people throughout the wind farm’s lifetime. These will not only be our direct employees but also staff from other companies responsible for servicing the wind farm.

Where to find those people is an excellent question. We have been thinking about this for quite some time, because we realise that Władysławowo currently functions somewhat seasonally. However, I believe investments of this kind help transform it into a centre of more permanent employment in the offshore wind sector. We are trying to promote such opportunities within the region – in Puck County and in Władysławowo itself – through programmes such as “Career with the Wind”, where we promote offshore wind energy among young people at secondary school level and even earlier. We are also involved in other initiatives designed to help people gain qualifications in this field and later provide services either to us or to another developer. In any case, it develops the local market and I hope it will also have a positive impact on the areas of Władysławowo and Puck.

Back to the sea. When the first phase of Polish offshore wind was originally planned, the physical security of these installations was not as significant an issue as it is today, following changes in the geopolitical situation. There has been much discussion about how developers and other institutions involved in offshore wind development should cooperate with the military and the state administration. What does this look like in the case of Ocean Winds? Who should be responsible for the security of such installations – the developer or the state?

There is no denying that the situation between any earlier stage of offshore wind development in Poland – let us say the entry into force of the Offshore Wind Act as a major milestone in 2021 – and today is completely different. We are in a completely different place. However, it should be noted that the first requirements relating to defence considerations were already included in location permits issued in 2012 or 2013. Nevertheless, the situation is entirely different today. For us, as a foreign developer with experience around the world, this is also somewhat new because the scale of mitigation measures and solutions we are required to implement in Poland is quite different from what has been seen in other markets. So although we have certain experience, we are still learning in this area. It requires very close cooperation with the Ministry of National Defence and other institutions responsible for this field.

On the other hand, offshore wind farms are not currently classified as critical infrastructure, although we expect that such installations may eventually receive that designation. There is a whole range of requirements that are still evolving regarding how such infrastructure should be protected and what measures must be implemented in order to achieve a required level of security.

What would change if an offshore wind farm and all associated infrastructure – including export cable routes to shore – were classified as critical infrastructure?

Designating our wind farm or its export infrastructure as critical infrastructure would introduce a whole range of additional requirements that developers must fulfil in order to properly protect such assets. However, the key question at present is whether and to what extent such facilities will actually be classified as critical infrastructure, because as far as I know that decision has not yet been taken. I believe we should focus on clarifying this so that investors have sufficient time to prepare and incorporate it into their construction plans, project design and broader strategy.

So for you that would not necessarily be beneficial. It would mean additional obligations without bringing significant benefits.

Yes, speaking frankly, it would primarily mean obligations for us. We already have our own ways of protecting such infrastructure to the extent we consider appropriate, but formal classification as critical infrastructure would impose additional obligations that we would not normally anticipate. Nevertheless, the geopolitical situation is currently sufficiently tense that such measures may prove necessary.

I would like to ask you for a broader look at the entire development phase of BC-Wind and conduct a kind of self-assessment. Is there anything which, from today’s perspective, you believe could have been done better, faster, more efficiently or more effectively?

I believe there are several areas we could improve. They mainly relate to adapting our international experience from other markets to Polish realities. Perhaps not everything worked exactly as we had expected. On the other hand, we must remember that this is a market that is still learning – not only from the experience of other markets but also from its own examples. We now have such examples, which means we are learning to some extent from our own mistakes. But overall the development phase, at least in the case of BC-Wind, has progressed roughly as favourably as we expected. In terms of the schedule, if we had avoided a few minor mistakes we might perhaps be a few months ahead. But it would not have made a crucial difference to the overall project timeline. Considering that we started on a new market with certain external experience that was not always fully applicable, it still seems to me that the development of this first phase has progressed very smoothly so far.

Now that you are in a kind of transitional phase between development and construction, what is planned for 2026? Will we already see your presence at sea?

In 2026 we primarily plan to build the onshore infrastructure – the substation in Choczewo and the onshore grid connection. That will begin very soon. In fact we were waiting for the frost to subside, which took us somewhat by surprise.

Shortly afterwards we will begin construction of the service base in Władysławowo and further onshore works. Offshore works – the installation of foundations – are scheduled for 2027. Cable installation, substations and turbines will follow in 2028.

Taking into account commissioning, testing and formal matters such as operating permits and licences, we assume that the first electricity – after obtaining the concession – will start flowing at the turn of 2028 and 2029.

Offshore wind is often described as an innovative sector. Where in a project like yours is there room for innovation? What technological challenges is the industry still waiting to solve?

I think there are many areas where innovation is possible, and in fact we are already seeing many innovations within the project. Perhaps more than ninety per cent of these innovations are not visible in everyday terms – they are not, for example, revolutionary new methods of installing monopiles. They are small improvements introduced across many different aspects of the project that are not visible from a broader perspective. But there are already quite a lot of them. Additionally, we try to think about future innovations during the operational phase – whether through the use of drones or similar technologies. The operational phase has significant potential for introducing new solutions, including those developed in Poland. Because this phase lasts longer and operations are smaller in scale than during construction, developing and then implementing innovations seems easier.

There is also increasing discussion about the decommissioning phase – dismantling and recycling the wind farm after its operational life, which will occur in roughly thirty years. There are attempts to recover raw materials from farm components or to recycle turbine blades in clever ways. Are these issues that need to be considered already at the design stage?

In our case we have the advantage that we can consider such issues from the perspective of our more mature assets in other markets. Wind farms that have been operating for several or even more than a dozen years already provide a different perspective on how decommissioning will be approached and what will be done with used blades or similar components. At the moment, as BC-Wind, we are not conducting any work related to decommissioning. We will rely on solutions developed by the parent company or by other projects within the Ocean Winds group. We do not yet have those plans, but such considerations are continuously being discussed at the Ocean Winds headquarters level.

In 2025 there was another very important event for offshore wind energy in Poland, although it may not directly concern BC-Wind – namely the country’s first offshore auction. You did not have to participate in it. From your perspective, how did that auction unfold? Were the results surprising and do they affect your position in the market?

The auction itself and its results do not have a direct impact on BC-Wind. BC-Wind is proceeding along its own path. We secured a Contract for Difference quite some time ago, which has also been notified, so to some extent that issue is already behind us and we are continuing with construction.

However, for the market itself – and perhaps for Ocean Winds within that market – the auction had an absolutely crucial impact for several reasons. First, it provides investment stability. It shows that a government which has decided to develop offshore wind energy is genuinely continuing along that path. These are not empty promises that an auction might take place at some point; it was firmly written into the legislation. That sends a strong signal to foreign investors that the government is acting in accordance with the commitments made some time ago. We naturally hope that another auction will also take place in 2027.

Secondly, four projects took part in the auction. For a long time there had been discussions about how many projects would actually be ready and whether the auction would make sense, whether they would be able to participate in time. It appears that even more projects were ready than the industry expected. For a long time there had been talk of three projects, and now we see that four actually took part. That is a very positive signal that more projects exist and will be ready for future auctions, potentially in 2027.

The third issue is the level of prices. It is clear that they are very close to the prices seen in the most recent auction in the United Kingdom. One can debate which is higher and which is lower, because it is not entirely black and white. However, even when compared with the maturity of the British offshore wind market, this is Poland’s first auction and no wind farm is yet in operation. In that sense, I believe it is a major success that we are able to maintain a very similar price level for a market that is still being built.

Finally, it is an excellent signal for local content and the Polish supply chain. Suppliers who are considering involvement in Polish offshore wind energy can see that this is not merely a handful of projects in the first phase which may already have allocated most contracts. They can see that there are additional projects – three at present and potentially more in the future – which will operate in this area. That provides a strong incentive for them to become more deeply involved in offshore wind and deliver the local content that everyone in the industry is striving to achieve.