Work on the first of four drilling operations near Lubiatowo, underneath the coast, beach, and sea floor, has been completed without directly affecting these environmentally valuable areas. This facet of the investment will enable the connection of the Baltic Power offshore wind farm to an onshore receiving station. A 1.4-kilometer tunnel will accommodate cables transmitting power. The work was conducted using directional drilling technology.
The accomplished section has allowed for the creation of the first of four underground corridors, which will house 30 cm diameter cables. This was Poland’s first instance of using directional drilling technology on such a large scale. Some of the drilling work took place at sea, utilizing diving teams and a specialist drilling platform known as a jack-up rig. In total, all drills will extract over 8000 cubic meters of spoil. Research commissioned by Baltic Power confirmed that the extracted sand is clean and suitable for reconstructing the beach eroded by winter storms.
“The work on Baltic Power, the largest renewable energy investment in our region, progresses according to schedule and is already at an advanced stage. We have completed the first and are conducting subsequent drillings for submarine cables connecting offshore power stations to land. The directional drilling method we used, instead of the typical excavation, is safer for the environment. This task is the first of its kind in Poland and unique in comparison to other offshore wind projects in Europe,” says Jarosław Broda, a board member of Baltic Power.
“In Europe, drilling operations that traverse coastlines are typically shorter. However, with longer sections, the diameter of the drill is usually smaller. For Baltic Power, this task is an engineering challenge due to the nearly one and a half kilometer drill length that stretches underneath the dune, beach, and the seabed. We can’t perform the drilling from one side only. Nevertheless, we conduct our operations to minimally interfere with the environment,” says Jens Poulsen, a board member of Baltic Power.
All work is being carried out in a way that minimizes potential disturbances to residents, tourists, and the environment. During the tourist season, heavy transports primarily arrive at the drilling site at night, and vehicles move at a speed of 10 km/h with a pilot escort. Consultations with authorities, the local community, and tourism industry representatives determined that the popular beach access point near the worksite would remain open and access to the beach unrestricted.
About 8 km away from the drilling site in Osieki Lęborskie, work is underway on constructing an onshore power station. Together with a cable connection, it will allow receiving power generated by the Baltic Power farm and its integration into the National Power System. The power line leading to the station will also be placed underground. The inland cable route was jointly designed with investors from other offshore wind farms to minimize interference with the natural environment and bypass environmentally valuable areas. The construction of the transformer station is more than 40% complete and is planned to be finished in the fourth quarter of 2025.
The Baltic Power offshore wind farm is the most advanced offshore wind project in Poland. It will also be one of the first farms in the world to feature 15 MW wind turbines, the towers of which will principally be made from steel produced using renewable energy sources. Baltic Power will cover 3% of Poland’s energy demand, thereby reducing national CO2 emissions by approximately 2.8 million tons annually.
Source: https://managerplus.pl/polaczenie-farmy-wiatrowej-baltic-power-z-ladem-zakonczono-pierwszy-przewiert-88415
