Polish offshore wind auction marks historic moment

Poland has recently successfully concluded its first auction for offshore wind capacity, marking a historic moment for the energy transition of the country, which has so far been heavily dependent on coal for its power generation.

The auction, held on 17th December 2025, awarded support to three major projects in the Baltic Sea, with a combined capacity of 3.4 GW.

The winners were PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) for its Baltic 9 project, Orlen Group for the Baltic East wind farm and a consortium of Equinor and Polenergia for the Bałtyk 1 project.

The success of the auction highlights offshore wind has the potential to play a central role in the country’s energy transition, industry sources told Gas Outlook.

It is also in stark contrast with what is happening elsewhere in Europe, where several tenders failed to attract bids in the past year.

The auction’s outcome “marks a breakthrough moment for Poland’s offshore wind industry,” Christoph Zipf, a spokesperson for lobby group WindEurope told Gas Outlook.

“It means stable energy prices, an investment impulse measured in hundreds of billions of zlotys, and a tangible strengthening of energy security and the competitiveness of the Polish economy” and has also “demonstrated that electricity generated from wind is price-competitive, underscoring its important role in building a stable and predictable energy mix in Poland,” he said.

The auction used a two-sided Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme, providing investors with long-term price stability for 25 years.

Winning bids ranged from approximately €113–€117/MWh, all below the ministerial price caps set earlier this year.

Orlen, one of the auction’s winners, told Gas Outlook that despite the challenges seen in some other European markets the outlook for offshore wind in Poland remains “strong and stable.”

A “predictable regulatory framework and long‑term support mechanisms” are contributing to “significantly reduce investment risk,” a spokesperson for the company said.

Offshore wind is seen as “a strategic pillar of (the country’s) energy security” and “the recent auction results confirm that well‑prepared projects with competitive cost structures can still succeed.”

The company is expecting to reach a final investment decision on its 1 GW Baltic East offshore wind project between 2029-2030, with first electricity expected in 2032.

The project benefits from preferential debt financing under Poland’s National Recovery Plan and is part of Orlen’s broader offshore wind portfolio, which includes six licences in the Baltic Sea and builds on experience gained from the Baltic Power project, the company said.

Baltic Power is expected to start generating electricity later this year.

The company has historically been a major fossil fuel player in the country, with operations in the natural gas trading and oil upstream and refining sectors.

Its shift towards renewables mirrors Poland’s goal to gradually shift away from coal dependence towards greater reliance on renewables and nuclear, although the pace of the energy transition has so far been uneven, amid rising electrification, high energy costs and an electricity system that is among the most carbon-intensive in Europe.

The offshore wind push has also attracted some criticism recently, with Poland’s grid operator Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne (PSE) urging to focus on more cost-competitive onshore wind projects amid rising costs for consumers.

Tightening global market

Despite the positive outcome, the sector still faces challenges such as “maintaining cost competitiveness, securing supply chains and ensuring timely project execution in a tightening global market,” Orlen said.

“The sector must continue to build local industrial capacity and maximise domestic content,” it added.

“Poland is entering the most intensive implementation phase, from finalising permits and contracts, through securing supplies and manufacturing capacity, to building lasting relationships with the domestic supply chain,” Zipf said.

“This is a critical moment for the pace and costs of investment, as well as the beginning of the long-term development of service and operations infrastructure which, over subsequent phases of offshore development, will create jobs and build competencies in coastal regions for decades to come.”

The offshore wind development push is also set to benefit the domestic supply chain in Poland.

Harnessing the full potential of the Polish part of the Baltic Sea, estimated at 33 GW would mean investments of approximately PLN 869 billion, including around PLN 488 billion in capital expenditures (CAPEX) and about PLN 12.7 billion annually in operating costs, Zipf said, citing data from the Polish Wind Energy Association.

“This would translate into PLN 284 billion in added value for the Polish economy and over PLN 55 billion in public finance revenues,” he said.

The Polish government is planning to hold further auctions for offshore wind in 2027 (4 GW), 2029 (2 GW), and 2031 (2 GW).

“The regularity of these auction rounds is essential to maintaining the competitiveness of the Polish market, building investment predictability, and ensuring continuity across the entire supply chain,” he said.

(Writing by Beatrice Bedeschi; editing by Sophie Davies)