It has been known for a long time that Poland's nascent offshore industry has to solve a big problem at the beginning - the country lacks workers with the right experience and skills to run offshore wind farm projects. In the right areas, however, developers can be assisted by foreign companies employing Poles, such as Kodiak, which wants to show itself on our market.

Kodiak is a company that has specialized in design development and EPCM (engineering, procurement and construction management) services in the offshore wind industry. Although headquartered in Hamburg, Germany, the company is by no means limited to the German market. It has projects to its credit in North America, France, Sweden, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia, among others.

“The German Baltic Sea is still our main project region,” says Eric Rosenberg, the company's development manager. “We manage the Ostwind 1, 2 and 3 farm projects for 50Hertz, Arcadis for Parkwind, as well as several smaller projects in the Baltic,” he adds. Also included are a project in the English Channel, three more in the North Sea, two interconnectors in the Baltic, and one connecting Australia and Tasmania. The company is also active onshore - it is involved in the construction of two energy corridors, SudOstLink (as the world's first large commercial HVDC 525kV transmission line) and SudLink (as the world's longest HVDC cable line) in Germany. Rosenberg adds that Kodiak also has consulting roles in projects in the United States, Denmark and Germany, among others. Around the world, some 75 people, including Poles, work on various initiatives in the company's colors. Most of the employees are project managers and engineers.

The geographic proximity made the interest in the Polish market natural.

“Poland has a lot of ambitious plans. I would say it is the second most ambitious offshore wind market in the Baltic after Sweden,” says Rosenberg.

So how can Kodiak help the Polish offshore? In Germany, the company often cooperates with transmission grid operators. In Poland, this function is performed only by PSE, but due to legislative differences, domestic developers should be interested in cooperation with Kodiak.

“We manage all EPCI suppliers on behalf of our clients,“ explains Eric Rosenberg. “A developer needs the right contractor to do this, they can't do it on their own. Our company helps manage it all together with him. Simply put, we execute the entire project for the client and help them achieve success. Our team is made up of experienced EPCI employees. We know the projects, the interfaces, the connections, the regulations,“ he adds.

“In Poland, the operator, PSE, is responsible for the implementation of 400kV onshore substations and any interfaces with newly built 220kV or 275kV onshore substations for future offshore wind farms, which are the responsibility of the developer to design and build. He has to put up not only the windmills, the foundations but also the onshore and offshore substation with its full cabling. He is the one who has to plan everything, build it and manage it. This is a field for us,“ says Michał Mallach, the company's representative on the Polish market.

As Michał Mallach adds, Kodiak could be a recipe for the problem of a shortage of experienced personnel in a sector that is just forming. As development and the various stages of a project (the design phase and the implementation phase) progresses, developers would like to hire at least a few or a dozen professionals each to handle a particular part of the project. However, there simply aren't any on the labor market.

“It's hard to find people with years of experience on offshore projects, at least in Poland, since the industry is new to us and only in its first phase of development. In the meantime, several universities have opened new faculties to train the future cadre of offshore wind specialists, but we will have to wait many more years for the first results before they gain not only theoretical knowledge, but also practical experience. That is why PKN Orlen, Polenergia and PGE have decided to form joint ventures (with Northland Power Inc., Equinor and Ørsted, respectively) to gather know-how from more experienced companies,“ says Michał Mallach. “Western companies have the human resources, but they also have other projects around the world. Developers are therefore looking for managers to take care of specific sections of the project. With each month and each year of project development, the need for experienced employees with unique know-how will increase. We can provide such people in areas ranging from the initial design phase, to managers for cables, turbines, transformer stations or health and safety, contract managers, all the way to people who will supervise construction directly on site or laying cables offshore or onshore. We can manage the entire area involved in the initial design and construction phase. And not only at sea, but also on land,“ explains Mallach.

Eric Rosenberg and Michał Mallach make no secret of the fact that this is just the beginning for Kodiak in Poland.

“We are at an early stage. We are currently building relationships with both large Polish companies and small ones. But it's a good idea to show the market our capabilities and offer services, because those just might be needed,” Rosenberg says.

“The industry will eventually need about tens of thousands of employees. Everything will mesh and fit into our offer. That's why we want to take the first step,“ adds Mallach. “At the next stage, we will contact developers directly. We want to tell them about the company, our experience and the possibilities for future cooperation,“ he says.

No one at Kodiak excludes the possibility that the Polish market could become an important part of the company's activities. In fact, the company is already thinking about hiring experienced foreign workers, but also Poles working in the industry.

“We are open to launching an office in Poland. At the moment, due to the differences between the various markets and the law, we can provide employees who will take care of the technical part, permitting, contracts. As for discussions with local officials and authorities - when we open an office in Poland and hire compatriots, we will be able to take care of that part as well,” explains Michał Mallach.