Report: Wind power is rocking Polish industry. Flagship investments will offer more than 11,000 new jobs
The wind industry will bring reliable and stable profits to the Polish economy in the coming decades, while increasing the involvement of domestic companies and industry. The Wind Industry Hub Foundation has gathered information on flagship wind power supply chain investments, which together will soon offer more than 11,000 new, well-paying jobs. Will Poland really become an industry hub for the sector?
Wind energy is one of the key drivers of the energy transition and decarbonization. Energy security is not only about the stability of green energy supply, it is also about the ability of domestic and European industry to provide adequate production capacity for RES investment projects (including wind) within the assumed timeframe.
The Wind Industry Hub Foundation has collected information on flagship wind power supply chain investments in Poland, which are already operating in Poland or have recently confirmed the location of industrial plants in our country, i.e. installation ports in Swinoujscie and Gdansk, service ports in Leba, Ustka or Wladyslawowo, Vestas wind turbine blade factory, Vestas wind turbine nacelle assembly factory, Baltic Towers tower factory, Windar tower factory or TFKable cable and wire manufacturing plant.
– The entities identified in the Wind Industry Hub Foundation study will soon offer several thousand well-paid jobs in installation and service ports, wind turbine component factories, assembly plants, transformer substation factories, cable or wire factories, among others. Polish e companies are already active players in the European supply chain, especially in the field of shipbuilding, which encourages the development of installation, service and port services. Harnessing the business and industrial potential of wind energy should be a priority in setting our country’s new industrial policy,” highlights Dominika Taranko, Managing Director, Vice President of the Wind Industry Hub Foundation.
There is no other such investment campaign in Poland today
After Denmark and Germany, Poland is today the 3rd market for wind in the European Union. This is due, among other things, to the fact that 30% of the Baltic Sea’s potential for OWE has been identified within Polish territorial waters. On top of that, we have an excellent background in terms of personnel – today 3% of offshore workers in the world are Poles.
The Polish offshore wind farm project worth about PLN 40 MLD after 3 years of the passing of the Offshore Act is already advanced. The offshore investment campaign with the participation of Polish and foreign companies, has already resulted in more than a dozen flagship investments, which will initiate the creation of more.
Poland’s industrial base is already ready for the transition to green energy sources – in the case of onshore wind power, local content, i.e. the share of Polish suppliers, is already 55-65%. And this is just the beginning, as it is estimated that offshore wind energy projects alone could create 39-63,000 jobs in Poland by 2030, including 13-21,000 direct jobs in OWE, 10-17,000 indirect jobs. The dynamic growth of investment that has taken place in recent years clearly indicates that it is Poland that will become the regional industrial hub of the wind sector.
– The new industry is a huge opportunity for Polish companies involved in the production and supply chain for onshore and offshore wind. Domestic entrepreneurs have thę potential to soon offeŕ major structural components, i.e. wind towers, turbine components, offshore transformer stations. However, urgent support and decisive actionś investment are needed. A conscious state industrial strategy is needed to prioritize the development of factories, projects, industry education, or raising financing, argues Piotr Czopek, Director of Regulatory Affairs, Polish Wind Energy Association.
Europe wants to catch the wind in its sails
The European Union, wishing to become a leader in the pursuit of climate neutrality while remaining competitive in global markets, has recently proposed a number of initiatives and legislative packages aimed at accelerating the energy transition. Recent documents explicitly point to the special role of wind power, which is expected to be one of the key drivers of the energy transition and decarbonization. The proposed regulations and measures are expected to accelerate the development of wind sources in Europe and simplify administrative procedures and legal frameworks – a fact clearly highlighted by the adoption of the Wind Power Action Plan. It is a document that is expected to increase the competitivenesś of the European wind energy sector and Europe’s ability to achieve climate and energy goals on its own.
In recent days, the European Parliament and the Council reached final agreement on the Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA). This is another decisive step away from purely price-based auctions. The NZIA introduces pre-qualification and non-price criteria to ensure that projects will be awarded not to those who perform the cheapest, but which will bring the greatest socio-economic value.
– I believe that the Green Deal can be a driving force for the European, including Polish, economy. The Net Zero Industry Act (NZIA), passed in early February, sets an annual target of 36 GW of wind turbines to be produced annually in the EU. That’s almost twice as much as we currently produce, so it provides a useful stimulus for building a European supply chain. Beyond that, the NZIA is another decisive step away from purely price-based auctions. The NZIA introduces pre-qualification and non-price criteria to ensure that projects are awarded not to those who make them the cheapest, but which will bring the greatest socio-economic value,” says Malgosia Bartosik, WindEurope Deputy Director General.
The Wind Industry Hub Foundation has gathered information on flagship wind power supply chain investments in Poland that are already operating in Poland or have recently confirmed the location of industrial plants in our country.