ORLEN Neptun, a subsidiary of Poland"s ORLEN Group, has inaugurated the country"s first offshore wind farm installation terminal in awinouj:cie.
This state-of-the-art facility is among the most advanced in Europe and will serve as a critical hub for both ORLEN"s offshore wind projects and external operators working in the Baltic Sea.
ORLEN Neptun has already secured its first long-term lease agreement with Ocean Winds a Spanish-French consortium and one of the global leaders in offshore wind energy development.
"The installation terminal in awinouj:cie is another pioneering step in Poland"s offshore wind journey.
This is more than infrastructure it"s a foundation for a future-proof energy sector," said Ireneusz F&fara, CEO and President of the Management Board of ORLEN.
"Offshore wind will power homes, businesses, and transportation with clean, reliable energy while opening new paths for industrial growth.
With nearly 50% Polish capital involvement, the awinouj:cie terminal will be the operational base for ORLEN"s future offshore projects.
The agreement with Ocean Winds and secured storage infrastructure represent a major development opportunity for the region and for Polish businesses supporting offshore wind.
The awinouj:cie terminal is designed to accommodate the largest jack-up and heavy-lift vessels used to install next-generation wind turbines, each with a capacity of around 15 MW.
It supports the handling, storage, and transport of key components such as monopiles, towers, blades, nacelles, cables, and offshore substation topsides the latter weighing up to 24,000 tonnes.
Strategically located with multimodal access via rail, ferry, road, and air, the terminal benefits from favorable inland weather conditions, enabling year-round operations.
It will primarily support the ORLEN Group"s offshore wind projects such as Baltic East and will also be available to other developers operating in German, Swedish, and Danish waters.
"Our terminal"s advanced capabilities make it uniquely suited for Europe"s growing offshore wind sector," said Janusz Bil, President of the Management Board of ORLEN Neptun.
"It"s one of the few ports in the region ready to support projects using next-generation turbines.
We are proud to launch operations with our first long-term contract already in place.
Under this agreement, ORLEN Neptun will lease nearly the entire terminal area to Ocean Winds for the construction of the BC-Wind offshore wind farm, located approximately 150 nautical miles (228 kilometers) from awinouj:cie.
The terminal will facilitate the delivery, storage, and preparation of foundations and other components, which will then be transported to the installation site by specialized vessels.
Cargo handling and logistics services will be provided by experienced local contractors.
"We are pleased to partner with ORLEN Neptun and select awinouj:cie as the operational base for the BC-Wind project," said Kacper Kostrzewa, Managing Director of Ocean Winds Poland.
"This cutting-edge facility meets both our technical and scheduling needs.
BC-Wind is our first project in the Baltic Sea and reflects our commitment to building strong ties with the Polish supply chain and advancing local offshore wind capabilities.
The terminal"s launch aligns with the ORLEN2035 strategy, which aims to accelerate the development of renewable energy assets.
Over the next decade, ORLEN plans to reach 12.8 GW of installed renewable capacity with 6.4 GW coming from offshore wind.