Vestas' de Baar flags one of Europe’s 'most promising' offshore wind markets
Wind turbine giant's Central and Eastern Europe president also clarifies that recent acquisition of LM Wind Power blade factory in Poland is on top of possible construction of offshore blade plant nearby
“Poland’s offshore wind market is one of the most promising markets in Europe,” de Baar said in an interview during the Husum Wind exposition that started on Tuesday and ends Friday.
“Poland’s offshore wind market is gaining strong momentum, with robust political and investor support,” de Baar said.
Polish blade factories and presidential veto
Near the Szczecin nacelle hub, Vestas also intends to build a blade factory that would cater for the V236 model.
“We will continue to closely monitor the market outlook for offshore wind across Europe and will make investment decisions according to the visibility of viable volume, and where we see a strong business case,” de Baar said.
The Danish manufacturer has also just acquired a blade factory in nearby Goleniów from GE Vernova’s LM Wind Power. But that facility produces blades for onshore wind turbines, including for Vestas’s V172-7.2MW model.
“The presidential veto on easing the onshore distance law is a setback, but we remain optimistic that the strategic importance of onshore wind for Poland’s energy security and the urgent need to expand domestic power-generating capacity are still widely recognised,” de Baar said.
Poland needs to further reduce its reliance on coal-fired power generation to meet EU climate goals.
“We expect both markets to develop in parallel, with offshore leading in scale and visibility, and onshore regaining pace as legislative improvements are reintroduced,” de Baar said.
Ramping up 15MW turbine manufacturing
“We are conducting extensive evaluations of the different systems in the wind turbine and certification tests, including load campaigns and power curve tests. Everything checks out well and is according to expectations, as also demonstrated by achieving type certification,” de Baar said.
“One of the areas where we have learned a lot is the testing of installation tools and procedures.
“On the offshore construction sites, we’re also progressing and have reached significant milestones earlier this year with the first installed turbines at the He Dreiht and Baltic Power projects.”
Asked whether the V236 could be upgraded to 16 or 17MW, he was cautious – in line with the already stated company policy to first earn enough from the 15MW model before venturing into higher ratings.
“Our focus is on perfecting our technology and capitalising on efficiencies as continuous rapid introduction of larger new models is hindering efforts to establish a sustainable industry that is ready to scale and resilient enough to meet the growing demand.”
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