Posts Tagged ‘Poland’
Open arms Nato’s Baltic members agree to open their borders in the event of an emergency
The eight Nato countries bordering the Baltic Sea, together with Iceland and Norway, have pledged to open their borders to each other’s citizens should they be forced to flee in the event of a disaster. The agreement is an extension of a patchwork of arrangements among some of the countries in the region and will make it possible to co-ordinate responses and establish uniform procedures for doing so.
The bear not in the room is Russia. The Kremlin has repeatedly said that it does not intend to invade Nato countries, but western intelligence agencies have advised their governments to be ready for everything from small-scale shenanigans to an outright invasion. Military collaboration has long been a way to signal to their populations that they are doing what they can to prevent such things from happening. Now, civil-defence agencies are showing they will be taken care of in the event they do.
RELATED ARTICLE } Swedes preparing to receive Bornholm refugees
Read MoreAll foundations installed at the Baltic Power offshore wind farm
Baltic Power, a joint venture offshore wind project of ORLEN Group and Northland Power, completed the main installation works of all 78 key elements of foundations – monopiles for turbines and offshore substations. Over 20 vessels and 500 crew members and contractor representatives took part in this part of the installation campaign.
Installation of offshore foundations is an enormous challenge; we performed a campaign that was unpreceded in Poland in terms of scope and scale of works. Vessel crews operated precisely with heavy loads, reaching 1300-1700 tons and 100 meters in length. Therefore, multiple operations were a single-attempt work leaving no space for mistakes. Moreover, they were performed in challenging sea and weather conditions. That’s why it is such a noticeable milestone and a moment of pride for all of us – comments Maciej Stryjecki, CEO and the President of the Management Board of Baltic Power.
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Originally published on 18 Feb
Read MoreEquinor and Polenergia Begin Offshore Construction in the Baltic Sea
Equinor and Polenergia, the developers of the Bałtyk 2 and Bałtyk 3 offshore wind projects, are launching the offshore installation campaign. This is one of the largest and most complex infrastructure projects currently underway in the Baltic Sea, marking a new chapter in the development of Poland’s offshore energy sector.
The scope for 2026 includes the installation of 100 monopiles, transition pieces, offshore substations components, subsea cables and supporting infrastructure. In 2026 alone, more than 20 vessels will be engaged in the construction work, including one of the world’s largest installation vessels, Thialf, alongside a fleet of highly specialised units.
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Originally published on 17 Feb
Read MoreKeeping up with the Nordics Baltics staying the course against corruption
When it comes to corruption rankings, there are the Nordics and then there is everyone else. Again this year, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden ended in a log jam at the top of the Corruption Perceptions Index, an annual ranking of perceived corruption in the public sector. Germany rounded out the top 10. The Baltic states (Estonia: 12; Lithuania: 28th; Latvia: 37) are showing that despite some setbacks (including the resignation of Lithuania’s prime minister last year amid a corruption scandal), that they, too, take corruption seriously.
Transparency International, which has produced the report each year since 1995, cautions against easing up against corruption, even in the Nordic countries, but, in the Baltic region, the trends at least are with them: countries with the best records are generally democratic and highly digitalised.
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That will show the path for Poland (52). To be sure, it has shown improvement since PiS, an illiberal regime that dismembered the country’s civil-society infrastructure, was voted out of office in 2023, and it finds itself solidly in the top third of the table.
Progress, though, has been modest, due to what has been deemed insufficient efforts to undo the damage done by PiS. Russia (157) finished level with Chad, Honduras and Zimbabwe. An outlier in a sea of outliers.
Students Join the “Setting the Course for Offshore” Program
Students from technical schools in the Pomeranian region, specializing in renewable energy, have embarked on a unique educational journey into the offshore wind industry. Launched by Equinor and Polenergia, the “Setting the Course for Offshore” program opens the door for young people to the world of offshore wind – one of the fastest-growing sectors of the Polish economy.
The program is delivered in cooperation with partners: Pomeranian Employers, the Polish Offshore Wind Energy Chamber, Rumia Invest Park, and the Pomeranian Offshore Renewable Energy Competence Centre.
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Originally published on 9 Feb
Read More€113 million in EU funding allocated to strengthen the resilience of Baltic and Polish electricity grids
The European Commission has allocated €113 million in funding from Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for critical Synchronisation infrastructure protection implemented by the transmission system operators of Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Poland. The implementation of wider range of projects aimed at ensuring energy security against potential cyber and physical threats began on February 9 last year, following the successful synchronization of the Baltic States with the Continental European electricity network.
“Having successfully completed the synchronization project, the Baltic States and Poland continue to invest in energy independence and security. We are grateful to the European Commission for supporting our ambition to make the Baltic Sea region a model for strengthening the security and resilience of critical energy infrastructure across Europe. This funding is the result of our consistent efforts and sets a new precedent, as until now the European Union had no dedicated financing for the protection of critical energy infrastructure. By consistently applying the lessons learned from Ukrainian energy specialists, we are expanding the scope of protection for our critical energy infrastructure projects. We plan to apply for further funding for resilience projects and are actively working to ensure that a long-term EU-level instrument for financing critical energy infrastructure protection is established,” – said Žygimantas Vaičiūnas, Minister of Energy of the Republic of Lithuania.
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Originally published on 28 Jan
Read MoreORLEN Neptun begins the preparation process of a service port for the Baltic West offshore wind farm
ORLEN Neptun has entered into a reservation agreement with the Kołobrzeg Sea Port Authority. The agreement includes the reservation of land in the Kołobrzeg Sea Port, which will enable the preparation of a service port for the operation of another ORLEN Group offshore wind farm developed within the phase II of offshore wind energy development – Baltic West.
Strengthening existing cooperation through the signed reservation agreement will enable analysis and development of the preliminary project documentation. This will allow to use the solutions best suited to the implementation of the offshore wind project – Baltic West. Gaining experiences such as this one can help unlock the port’s infrastructure potential for the implementation of future offshore wind projects in this part of the Baltic Sea.
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Originally published on 22 Jan
Read MoreThird terminal’s a charm Baltic Hub posts third straight record volume
On Thursday, the Baltic’s largest container port reported the best year in its history—for the third year running. Last year, Baltic Hub, a part of the Port of Gdańsk, handled 23% more containers than it did in 2024. The increase is directly tied to the completion in June of T3, the facility’s third deep-water quay, which raised its capacity by a third.
The expansion of Baltic Hub significantly increases its competitive advantage in the region, and puts pressure on other ports to keep pace, but it should not take its edge for granted. Many of its competitors in Poland were already on the decline, due largely to a falling volume of coal shipments, and are making investments of their own in the hopes of reversing their fortunes. The twin port of Świnoujście and Szczecin, for example, is investing 10 million złoty (€2.4 million) in upgrades, including construction of its own deep-water container port. Its capacity will only be half of Baltic Hub’s, but it touts road and railway access, as well as its existing ferry and LNG terminals, as its strong suits. A port cannot thrive on containers alone.
Read MoreEight Baltic Sea electricity TSOs publish offshore system study to promote coordinated sea basin planning
The electricity Transmission System Operators (TSOs) of eight countries bordering the Baltic Sea today published the first comprehensive regional system study for offshore network infrastructure and offshore wind, marking a significant step toward coordinated sea basin planning in Europe.
The TSOs of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden – organised in the Baltic Offshore Grid Initiative (BOGI) – developed a study that moves from electricity transmission corridors to potential projects for the 2040-time horizon. The results show that the Baltic Sea region can become a clean energy hub, with around 13 GW of new cross-border interconnectors and up to 50 GW of additional offshore wind identified by 2040. These connections include point-to-point links between countries and strategic offshore nodes such as Bornholm, which could serve as future hybrid hubs. The market modelling indicates that these interconnectors would operate with high utilisation throughout the year and significantly reduce system costs, price peaks and CO₂ emissions.
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Originally published on 22 Jan
Read MoreMarket participants are invited to provide feedback on the Nordic–Baltic Hydrogen Corridor project
The implementers of the Nordic–Baltic Hydrogen Corridor project — the European gas transmission system operators “Conexus Baltic Grid” (Latvia), “Gasgrid Finland” (Finland), “Elering” (Estonia), “Amber Grid” (Lithuania), “GAZ‑SYSTEM” (Poland) and “ONTRAS” (Germany) — have launched a market survey, inviting market participants to express their views by completing a questionnaire on the cross‑border hydrogen infrastructure development project.
At this stage, market participants are invited to take part in shaping the development of the cross‑border hydrogen network by providing their perspectives on the creation of the Nordic–Baltic Hydrogen Corridor, which will strengthen Europe’s energy security and support the transition to a climate‑neutral economy.
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Originally published on 16 Jan
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