Bałtyk 2

On 22 April 2026, Equinor and Polenergia reported that key offshore substation and transition-piece fabrication for Bałtyk 2 (and its sister project Bałtyk 3) had reached major manufacturing milestones at Smulders' Vlissingen yard in the Netherlands. The Bałtyk 2 offshore substation topside, alongside the Bałtyk 3 topside, had been rolled out of the production hall and positioned in the outdoor yard, each measuring 51 × 38 × 43 metres (comparable to a 15-storey building) and weighing approximately 3,700 tonnes. Both topsides were undergoing outfitting works pending offshore transport. In parallel, more than 60 transition pieces had been assembled at the Vlissingen yard (across the combined 100-piece scope for Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3), each standing around 17 metres tall and weighing close to 400 tonnes. The first transition pieces and monopiles were stated to be among the first components installed offshore in the upcoming campaign. This milestone confirms that the substation and foundation supply chain for Bałtyk 2 was in advanced fabrication ahead of the spring 2026 offshore installation campaign.

By the end of the first quarter of 2026, fabrication and assembly of major components for the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 offshore wind farms were well underway at multiple facilities in Poland and abroad. According to the project partners, manufacturing activities were in progress for monopiles, transition pieces, subsea cables and selected offshore substation components, and preparations were ongoing for phased transport of this infrastructure to site. In addition, production of offshore wind turbine towers specifically for the Bałtyk 2 project had commenced. This manufacturing progress update confirms that critical steel and electrical components for Bałtyk 2 were moving through fabrication ahead of the main offshore installation campaign starting in 2026.

As of 18 February 2026, the monopile and transition-piece foundations for the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 offshore wind farms were in manufacturing. Offshorewind.biz reported that Sif was producing the monopiles and Smulders the transition pieces ahead of the 2026 offshore construction campaign. These components will be installed using Heerema’s heavy-lift vessel Thialf as part of a programme that includes 100 monopiles and associated transition pieces. The manufacturing progress underpins the schedule to start large-scale foundation installation for Bałtyk 2 in 2026.

In January 2026, Equinor and Polenergia commenced offshore site preparation for the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 wind farms through a subsea rock installation campaign. Specialised vessels were deployed to place more than one million tonnes of rock on the seabed to protect future export and inter-array cables and turbine foundations against waves and sea currents. This work marks the first offshore construction-season activity at the project site and is critical for long-term cable stability and structural integrity. By the end of the first quarter of 2026, the first phase of this seabed protection campaign had been completed, providing prepared corridors and protection zones ahead of foundation and cable installation for Bałtyk 2.

Offshore construction activities for the Bałtyk 2 wind farm commenced in January 2026 with the launch of the subsea rock installation campaign — the first phase of the offshore installation programme. Specialised vessels began placing rock material on the seabed to protect future export and inter-array cables and turbine foundations against waves and sea currents, with the full programme totalling more than one million tonnes of material across the joint Bałtyk 2 + 3 construction site. The Equinor/Polenergia 30 April 2026 status update confirmed: 'In January 2026 we began the first phase of the offshore installation campaign'. Subsequent foundation, cable and substation installation campaigns will follow through 2026 and 2027, building on this rock-protection foundation. This event marks the formal start of offshore construction activities; the main foundation installation milestone is tracked separately under foundation_installation_start.

During 2025, an unexploded ordnance (UXO) inspection campaign was carried out on the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 offshore wind projects by Polish research company MEWO. The work involved inspecting the seabed for potential unexploded ordnance and duds in the Baltic Sea project area ahead of foundation and cable installation. This follows earlier contracting of DeepOcean and MEWO to undertake geophysical and UXO surveys along the export and inter-array cable corridors. Completion of this UXO inspection for Bałtyk 2 reduces construction and operational risk by identifying hazardous munitions so they can be managed or cleared before large‑scale offshore works commence. The article, dated June 2025, reports the inspection as having been conducted earlier in the same year, so the event is recorded as a 2025 completion with year‑level date precision.

On 14 November 2025 the European Investment Bank (EIB) signed additional loan tranches for the BALTYK II & BALTYK III OFFSHORE project, further increasing its financing commitment to the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 wind farms. Two signatures were executed on this date, for EUR 148 million and EUR 155 million respectively, adding EUR 303 million to the previously signed EUR 700 million. In total, EIB signatures for the project at that point amounted to EUR 1.003 billion, within a proposed EIB finance envelope of EUR 1.4 billion against an estimated total project cost of EUR 6.519 billion. These concessional development‑bank loans form a key element of the overall project‑finance structure supporting construction of Bałtyk 2.

On 3 July 2025, IQIP reported a manufacturing and logistics milestone for the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 projects: sixteen jacket pile grippers had been manufactured and transported to Smulders’ production facility in Newcastle, UK. The grippers will be integrated into the jackets for the two offshore substations, ensuring accurate positioning and secure grouted connections during offshore installation. This delivery confirms that key foundation components for Bałtyk 2’s offshore substation are complete and at the fabrication yard in readiness for the 2026 offshore installation campaign.

On 27 June 2025, Equinor and Polenergia confirmed that physical construction of the onshore infrastructure for the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 offshore wind farms had started. Works include building two onshore power stations at Pęplin near Ustka, constructing the land-based sections of the export cable corridor, and developing a new operations and service base in Łeba. The article notes that construction has begun and that work is already in full swing on these elements, marking the transition of Bałtyk 2 (and its twin Bałtyk 3) into the onshore build phase that will enable connection of the 720 MW offshore project to Poland’s national grid.

By late June 2025, installation works for the onshore export cable system serving Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 had commenced. Equinor and Polenergia reported that construction of the onshore power cable routes was underway along a corridor of approximately 14 km between the landfall near Ustka and the new substations at Pęplin. Near the shoreline, contractors are using horizontal directional drilling (HDD) to create underground passages so the cables can be brought ashore without open trenches, minimising environmental and visual impact on the beach. This marks the formal start of the onshore cable installation campaign needed to transmit electricity from Bałtyk 2 into the Polish transmission grid.

On 26 June 2025, Equinor and Polenergia marked the start of onshore implementation for the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 offshore wind farms at a ceremony in Warsaw. The developers reported that construction had begun on key onshore infrastructure: two onshore power stations in Pęplino near Ustka, cable routes linking the coast to the national grid, and an operations and service base in Łeba. The works include preparation of the approximately 14 km onshore connection corridor and horizontal directional drilling near Ustka to bring export cables ashore using trenchless methods that protect the coastal environment. This milestone represents the onset of major onshore site preparation for Bałtyk 2 following FID and financial close.

On 23 May 2025, Equinor and Polenergia reached financial close for the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 offshore wind projects, including Bałtyk 2. The joint venture secured two non‑recourse project finance packages, each of over EUR 3 billion for Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 respectively, including ancillary facilities. In total, the financing for both projects amounts to approximately EUR 7.2 billion, funding capital investment and other construction-period costs. The wind farms are project financed with gearing of around 80%. Around 30 financial institutions, including Equinor’s core banks, the Nordic Investment Bank and the European Investment Bank, participate in the lending group. Equinor is responsible for the construction phase and will operate the wind farms. Financial close marked the last major milestone before full‑scale construction for Bałtyk 2 and its sister project.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) signed the first loan tranches for the BALTYK II & BALTYK III OFFSHORE project on 20 May 2025. Two signatures of EUR 350 million each were executed that day, providing a total of EUR 700 million in long‑tenor debt financing to support construction of the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 offshore wind farms off the Ustka‑Łeba coast. The EIB documentation indicates a proposed total EIB contribution of EUR 1.4 billion against an approximate total project cost of EUR 6.519 billion. These initial signatures represent a major portion of the development‑bank backing for the projects and complement the wider commercial bank syndicate arranged under the project‑finance structure.

On 19 May 2025, in connection with the final investment decisions for Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3, Equinor and Polenergia disclosed that they had already contracted several main Polish contractors for implementation of the projects, including Tele-Fonika Kable and Enprom. These awards cover key elements of the onshore and grid-related works and support the developers’ strategy to build a strong local supply chain around the Bałtyk projects. The contracts complement earlier awards for turbines, foundations, and offshore cables and mark further progress in locking in delivery capacity for Bałtyk 2 ahead of full-scale construction.

As part of the same subsea survey scope for the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 offshore wind farms, DeepOcean and its Polish subcontractor MEWO planned to begin unexploded ordnance (UXO) survey work in early 2025. In addition to geophysical mapping of export and inter-array cable corridors, the contract includes dedicated mapping of the seabed for potential UXO, to be executed by MEWO using the vessel Amber Cecilia. These early‑phase UXO surveys for Bałtyk 2 are intended to identify and classify any munitions or duds along the future cable and foundation routes so that they can be cleared before main offshore construction. At the time of contracting, the UXO campaigns were scheduled but had not yet commenced, so this represents a planned start milestone in early 2025.

On 3 February 2025, DeepOcean announced that it had been awarded a subsea survey contract for the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 offshore wind developments, with Polish company Mewo acting as subcontractor. Under the contract, DeepOcean will perform geophysical seabed surveys along the export and inter‑array cable corridors, using a dedicated survey ROV deployed from the vessel Edda Flora, while Mewo will carry out unexploded ordnance (UXO) surveys with the vessel Amber Cecilia. The survey campaigns are scheduled for early 2025. This contract secures specialist geophysical and UXO survey services needed to refine and de‑risk the offshore cable routes for Bałtyk 2 ahead of installation.

In 2025, offshore cable routes for the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 projects underwent UXO (unexploded ordnance) surveys alongside preparatory works such as boulder relocation, marking the commencement of UXO investigation activities along the planned offshore cable corridors.

Equinor and Polenergia commenced geophysical seabed survey activities for the Bałtyk 2 (and sibling Bałtyk 3) export and inter-array cable corridors in December 2024 under a contract with DeepOcean. The flagship survey vessel Edda Flora was mobilised to perform the main scope of work, deploying a dedicated survey remotely operated vehicle (SROV) to map the seabed and finalise the cable-corridor design. The scope ran in parallel with the UXO sub-campaign delivered by Polish subcontractor MEWO S.A. using the vessel Amber Cecilia. These activities supported safe and efficient subsea cable installation, and were a prerequisite for the January 2026 start of subsea rock installation along the cable corridors.

Equinor and Polenergia's Bałtyk 2 (and sibling Bałtyk 3) offshore wind farms commenced UXO mapping activities in December 2024 as part of the wider DeepOcean subsea-survey programme covering the export and inter-array cable corridors. The UXO sub-scope was delivered by Polish subcontractor MEWO S.A. using the vessel Amber Cecilia, with DeepOcean as the prime contractor. The work cleared the cable-corridor seabed of unexploded ordnance ahead of cable lay, and was a prerequisite for the January 2026 start of subsea rock installation along the Bałtyk 2 export cable corridor.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) approved major debt financing for the Bałtyk II & Bałtyk III Offshore project, which includes the Bałtyk 2 wind farm, on 6 November 2024. The EIB documentation states that proposed EIB finance amounts to approximately EUR 1.4 billion for the combined projects, with a total project cost of about EUR 6.519 billion. The milestones section records the project as moving from appraisal to ‘Approved’ on 6 November 2024 and later to ‘Signed’ on 20 May 2025, with subsequent loan signatures in November 2025 totalling EUR 1.003 billion executed to date. The EIB loans support the design, implementation and operation of the two 720 MW fixed‑bottom offshore wind farms off the Ustka‑Łeba coast, contributing to EU renewable energy and cohesion objectives. This approval represents concessional development-bank debt backing that underpins the wider project finance structure for Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3.

On 21 August 2024, Polenergia and Equinor announced that the Pomeranian Voivodeship had issued the full set of 17 construction permits required to build the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 offshore wind farms. For Bałtyk 2, the permits authorise installation of 50 of the 100 jointly authorised wind turbines, one of the two offshore substations in the Polish sector of the Baltic Sea, the laying of export and inter-array (internal) cables, and one of the two associated onshore substations with supporting infrastructure near Ustka. The award completed the offshore and onshore construction-permit set after several intermediate permits had been issued by mid-July, removing the final regulatory obstacle to commencing physical construction works. With these authorisations in place, the developers stated they were "one step away from building the offshore wind farms", and confirmed that preparatory works on land would begin in 2024, with first electricity expected in 2027 and full commercial operation in 2028.

On 3 July 2024, Equinor and Polenergia announced that they had signed contracts with Heerema Marine Contractors for the transport and installation of foundations and offshore substations for the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 offshore wind farms. For Bałtyk 2, Heerema will transport and install 100 monopiles and transition pieces, as well as the topsides of two offshore transformer stations, using heavy‑lift vessels including the crane ship Thialf. All foundations are planned to be installed in 2026, with substation topsides installed in separate campaigns in 2026 and 2027. This supply‑and‑install agreement secures the main offshore construction contractor for the foundation and OSS installation scope, a major EPCI milestone ahead of the 2026 offshore campaign.

On 16 February 2024, Sif Holding NV confirmed that it had signed final contracts with the Equinor–Polenergia joint venture for the supply of 100 monopile foundations for the Bałtyk II and Bałtyk III offshore wind farms. For Bałtyk 2, Sif will fabricate monopiles at its Dutch facilities in Roermond and Rotterdam according to a schedule that starts manufacturing in the second quarter of 2025 and completes in the first quarter of 2026. The monopiles will support Siemens Gamesa SG 14‑236 DD turbines and be installed at sites approximately 37 km offshore. This contract secures the primary steel monopile supplier for Bałtyk 2 and locks in a key element of the foundation supply chain.

On 25 October 2023, Equinor and Polenergia signed a contract with Seaway7 for the design, manufacture, supply and installation of the inter‑array cable system for the Bałtyk II offshore wind farm and its sister project Bałtyk III. For Bałtyk 2, Seaway7 will supply and install approximately 200 km of 66 kV inter‑array cables that will connect 100 turbines to two offshore substations, including seabed burial and installation works. The contract secures a specialist offshore cable installation contractor for the internal collection grid, representing a major procurement milestone ahead of the offshore construction campaign scheduled to begin in 2026.

On 25 October 2023, Equinor and Polenergia awarded the offshore export cable contract for the Bałtyk II and Bałtyk III offshore wind farms to an international consortium formed by Jan De Nul and Hellenic Cables. For Bałtyk 2, the consortium will design, manufacture, supply and install four 220 kV offshore export cables with a total length of around 256 km, transmitting power from the offshore substations to the onshore substations. The scope includes seabed laying and burial, as well as a trenchless landfall using horizontal directional drilling to protect the coastal zone near Ustka. This award secures the main export cable supply and installation partner for Bałtyk 2’s grid connection.

As part of cable and electrical infrastructure preparations for the Bałtyk II and Bałtyk III offshore wind farms, Equinor and Polenergia also signed a contract with DNV, announced on 25 October 2023. Under this agreement, DNV will certify the offshore parts of the projects, including Bałtyk 2’s offshore infrastructure. The certification scope covers conformity assessment of the design and construction of the offshore assets, supporting regulatory compliance and risk reduction for the twin 720 MW projects. This specialist certification award is an important procurement milestone complementing the main cable and electrical contracts.

On 30 December 2022, Equinor and Polenergia awarded Hitachi Energy the electrical systems infrastructure contract for the MFW Bałtyk II and MFW Bałtyk III offshore wind projects. For Bałtyk 2, Hitachi Energy will execute the overall electrical system design from the turbines to the grid connection point at the Słupsk‑Wierzbięcino substation, supply the overall power control and telecom systems, deliver all high‑voltage equipment at the offshore and onshore substations, and provide turnkey delivery of the entire onshore substation, including interface works at the grid connection. This contract confirms Hitachi Energy as the main substation and electrical systems supplier, enabling integrated HVAC grid connection design compliant with Polish grid code requirements.

On 8 November 2022 the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection in Gdańsk (RDOŚ Gdańsk) issued an amended Decyzja środowiskowa (DŚU) covering the MFW Bałtyk II and MFW Bałtyk III offshore wind farms. The amendment was required because the projects' turbine parameters had changed materially compared with the original 2017 environmental decision — moving to the Siemens Gamesa SG 14-236 DD platform — and the developer (Polenergia, with Equinor as JV partner) had filed an application to amend the 2017 decision on 13 June 2022. The amended DŚU became final on 29 November 2022, completing the renewed environmental-conditions framework needed to build Bałtyk II at the updated technical specification. Per Polish convention, DŚU amendments re-emit eia_approved rather than routing through consent_variation_awarded (which is reserved for Pozwolenie na budowę amendments). This decision unlocked subsequent procurement decisions and the 2025 final investment decision and financial close.

On 2 June 2022 the Bałtyk II project company submitted a new Decyzja środowiskowa (DŚU) application to the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection, covering the shared grid-connection infrastructure for the Bałtyk II and Bałtyk III offshore wind farms. The application was triggered by significant modifications to the connection infrastructure as the project matured, particularly on the onshore section including spatial route changes for the export cable corridor and onshore substation locations. This filing is distinct from the original 2017 wind-farm DŚU and from the 15 September 2022 RDOŚ decision confirming the original Bałtyk II conditions remained valid. The connection-infrastructure DŚU procedure ran in parallel and underpinned the export and onshore cable corridor design that subsequently fed into the procurement awards to Hellenic Cables/Jan De Nul (export), Tele-Fonika Kable (onshore cables), ENPROM (cable corridor preparation), Hanab and ZRB Janicki (HDD landfall). Sister project Baltica 3 records its own connection-infrastructure DŚU as a separate eia_approved event under the same PL routing convention.

On 22 February 2022, Equinor and Polenergia selected Siemens Gamesa as the preferred supplier of wind turbine generators for the MFW Bałtyk II offshore wind farm (Bałtyk 2) and its twin project Bałtyk III. Under the preferred supplier agreement, Siemens Gamesa will provide its SG 14‑236 DD offshore wind turbine platform to cover the combined planned capacity of 1,440 MW across both projects. The turbine has a nominal rating of 14 MW, upgradeable to 15 MW with Power Boost. The announcement marks a key late‑development milestone, locking in the turbine technology and enabling further detailed engineering and procurement for Bałtyk 2 ahead of construction.

Bałtyk 2 secured its main revenue support mechanism in 2021 when Poland’s Energy Regulatory Office (URE) awarded Contracts for Difference (CfDs) to the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 offshore wind projects. The CfDs fix the power price for 25 years, providing long-term revenue certainty and underpinning project bankability. Equinor and Polenergia, the 50:50 joint venture partners, state that the projects were granted CfDs in May 2021. Equinor later specified that the CfDs secure a strike price of approximately EUR 71 per MWh in 2021 prices, indexed to inflation, for the 1,440 MW combined capacity. This revenue framework is the core support scheme for the Polish Phase I offshore wind projects and was a prerequisite for subsequent financing and FID on Bałtyk 2.

In January 2013, MFW Bałtyk II Sp. z o.o. (the Equinor–Polenergia 50/50 JV company) was awarded its PSzW (Pozwolenie na wznoszenie i wykorzystywanie sztucznych wysp) — the Polish location permit for the erection and use of artificial islands, structures and installations in the Polish exclusive economic zone — by the minister responsible for maritime affairs (currently the Minister of Infrastructure). Issued under Article 23 of the 21 March 1991 Act on Maritime Areas of the Republic of Poland and Maritime Administration, the PSzW is the functional equivalent of a seabed lease award in Poland's offshore wind regime: it confers exclusive rights to develop a specific seabed plot, and is the foundational early-development consent without which subsequent permits (cable corridor, environmental decision, grid connection, construction permits) cannot be sought. Sister project Bałtyk III received the equivalent permission ten months earlier (March 2012); both projects went on to obtain cable-laying permits (March 2014), environmental decisions (March 2017), and connection conditions from PSE (January 2019), culminating in the August 2024 award of all 17 construction permits by the Pomeranian Voivode that unlocked physical construction.