On Wednesday, July 10, a meeting of the Parliamentary Maritime Team was held, entitled “Opportunities and challenges for the Polish maritime economy in view of the dynamic development of offshore energy”. The meeting was attended by Ministers Milosz Motyka (Ministry of Climate and Environment) and Jacek Karnowski (Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy).
The meeting was opened by Vice President and Managing Director of Wind Industry Hub Dominika Taranko, who, in her introductory presentation, spoke about the need for a strong state policy aimed at the development of the wind energy supply chain and the repeated call for the appointment of a government plenipotentiary who could coordinate the development of a new economic sector such as offshore wind energy.
In the later part of the discussion, Polish Wind Energy Association’s and the Wind Industry Hub’s CEO Janusz Gajowiecki presented urgent regulatory demands, without which Poland will not be able to use its offshore potential, which is considered to be one of the largest in Europe, reaching up to 33 GW. Its utilization would allow Poland to meet almost 60% of its electricity demand.
Oliwia Mróz-Malik, PhD, an expert from PWEA and WIH, also highlighted the need to prepare a long-term framework for the development of offshore wind energy, which requires the adoption of ambitious goals, as well as the revision of the spatial development plan for Polish maritime areas. In addition, the expert emphasized the challenges of preparing personnel for the sector, which should support both the development of the offshore industry and OWF investments. Poland’s offshore wind farm project is the largest infrastructure investment in post-war Poland, which could be worth as much as PLN 500 billion.
The 2.5-hour meeting and discussion was attended by numerous representatives from the social side, MPs, senators and representatives of government and local administration.
