PGE Baltica, a member of the PGE Group, has entered the stage of environmental research for the Baltica 1 project - an offshore wind farm located approx. 80 km from the Baltic coast. The research will be carried out by a consortium of Gdynia Maritime University and MEWO S.A. specializing in submarine measurements.

- The first electricity from the Baltica 1 offshore wind farm will flow at the beginning of the next decade. Before this happens, however, we will conduct a series of detailed studies and analyzes that will allow us to properly prepare the project and obtain the necessary administrative decisions. Earlier, in May this year, we started a two-year wind measurement campaign for the Baltica 1 project, and now we are starting environmental research - says Wojciech Dąbrowski, President of the Management Board of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna.

The research will be carried out by a consortium of the Gdynia Maritime University and MEWO S.A., which will also prepare an environmental report and will be responsible for obtaining an environmental decision for the Baltica 1 project issued by the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection in Gdańsk. This process is part of the next stages of the investment, including the development of design documentation and obtaining a building permit.

- One of the key stages in the design of any offshore wind farm is environmental research. They make it possible to accurately identify the natural resources of the sea - not only in terms of geology and water, but also in terms of organisms present in the studied area - plants, animals inhabiting the seabed, fish, birds and mammals, including bats. All this in order to minimize the impact on the natural environment, both during construction and subsequent long-term operation, when designing the construction of a wind farm. Importantly, in addition to the farm area, the research will also cover the area of sea and land where the offshore wind farm connection infrastructure will be built - says Dariusz Lociński, President of the Management Board of PGE Baltica.

The research is also to provide answers to questions about potential risks and possible limitations that must be taken into account when designing and then building an offshore wind farm. Thanks to their results, solutions will be created that will allow avoiding the impact on environmentally valuable protected areas and the economic environment. This approach to environmental protection issues has been implemented in other projects in the Baltic Sea implemented by the PGE Group - Baltica 2 and Baltica 3.

Baltica 1 is one of the three projects currently implemented by PGE in the Baltic Sea. In the years 2026-2027, the Baltica 2 and Baltica 3 wind projects will be launched, which constitute the Baltica Offshore Wind Farm with a total installed capacity of approx. 2.5 GW. The Baltica 2 and Baltica 3 projects are implemented by the PGE Group and Ørsted.

Baltica 1, with an installed capacity of approximately 0.9 GW, is being developed by the PGE Group and will be launched after 2030. It will be built about 80 km from the Polish coast of the Baltic Sea in the area of Central Shoal, north of the Baltica 2 and Baltica 3 projects. The project already has a location permit and a connection agreement. By implementing further offshore wind farm projects, the PGE Group intends to fulfill the strategic goal of achieving at least 6.5 GW of offshore generation capacity in the Baltic Sea by 2040.