To Poland first, where the projects winning a lease were the 1,560 MW Baltyk 1 project from MFW Baltyk 1, the 975 MW capacity Baltica 9 project from Elektrownia Wiatrowa Baltica 9 and the 900 MW capacity Baltic East project from Orlen Neptun VIII.  

Poland’s Energy Regulatory Office (URE) said that within the winning bids, the minimum offered price amounted to PLN 476.88 ($133) per MWh, while the highest price reached PLN 492.32 ($137) per MWh. Participants have seven years to complete construction, after which they will be entitled to 25 years of financial support. The total estimated volume of electricity covered by the auction amounted to over 330 TWh.

URE President Renata Mroczek said: ‘The first auction for offshore wind energy in Poland is an event of major importance on the path of our country’s energy transition. The fact that it was successfully conducted gives me great satisfaction. The preparation and organisation of the offshore auction involved numerous challenges for the Office I am in charge of, operating in a complex and dynamically changing regulatory environment. This confirms the Regulator’s ability to support the strategic objectives of the state in the energy sector.’

Trade Association WindEurope said that the two-sided Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction ‘marks the beginning of a new phase for Poland’s offshore wind sector’.

The three projects join two other wind farms currently under construction which were awarded outside of auctions: Northland Power and ORLEN’s 1.1 GW Baltic Power wind farm, and Orsted and PGE’s 1.5 GW-capacity Baltica 2 project.  

WindEurope adds that the scale of investment is substantial, with the country projected to attract up to €208bn, of which domestic enterprises are expected to account for over 40% of the supply chain.  

It notes that the country’s offshore wind roadmap includes further auctions in 2027, 2029 and 2031, and adds: ‘If current momentum continues, Poland could reach 18 GW of offshore wind by 2040 and potentially exceed 30 GW by 2050. The Polish model, with its clear rules and long-term CfD support, is a stabilising force for the industry and a blueprint for other markets.’

Poland marks the southernmost extent of the Baltic Sea, which also touches Russia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. In 2024, Sweden’s military objected to more than 30 offshore wind farm sites on national security grounds. In December, the US government followed suit.  

The US Department of the Interior announced on 22 December that it was pausing six offshore wind leases, including Empire Wind 1, which the Trump Administration had previously stopped, and then started again, last year. Other projects affected are Vineyard Wind 1, Revolution Wind, CVOW – Commercial and Sunrise Wind.

At the time, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said: ‘Today’s action addresses emerging national security risks, including the rapid evolution of the relevant adversary technologies, and the vulnerabilities created by large-scale offshore wind projects with proximity near our east coast population centres.’

The official press release also cited risks in ‘recently completed classified reports’ by the US government’s military arm, as well as unclassified reports from the US government, which have ‘long found that the movement of massive turbine blades and the highly reflective towers create radar interference called “clutter.” The clutter caused by offshore wind projects obscures legitimate moving targets and generates false targets in the vicinity of the wind projects’.

It also referenced a 2024 Department of Energy report which stated that a radar’s threshold for false alarm detection can be increased to reduce some clutter, but an increased detection threshold could cause the radar to ‘miss actual targets’.

The Department said that the pause, reportedly lasting 90 days, would allow time for government agencies to work with leaseholders and state partners to assess the possibility of mitigating the national security risks posed by these projects.

The move has proven controversial.

One objection has come from the governors of Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island. They said: ‘Pausing active leases, especially for completed and nearly completed projects, defies logic, will hurt our bid for energy independence, will drive up costs for America ratepayers, and will make us lose thousands of good-paying jobs. It also threatens grid reliability that is needed to keep the lights on,’ as quoted in a report by RenewablesNow.  

Liz Burdock, CEO of US offshore wind association Oceantic Network, said: ‘The US offshore wind industry has continuously worked with the Department of Defense to address national security concerns, and its own Clearinghouse has signed off on every offshore wind lease ahead of construction.’

She continued: ‘This latest attack follows recent industry court victories against the Administration’s attempts to slow down offshore wind. Just two weeks ago, a federal judge vacated the Administration’s previous permitting pause, ruling it unlawful. Earlier this fall, a separate judge ordered an injunction against the Administration’s Stop Work Order against Revolution Wind, finding it unsubstantiated. This newest claim contradicts years of rigorous, interagency reviews, as these projects have already passed explicit clearances from the Department of Defense and the Pentagon before construction began.’