Poland Receives Its First Electricity from Offshore Wind As Baltic Power Starts Delivering
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
Electricity generated by the Baltic Power offshore wind farm has entered Poland’s national power grid, marking the first time the electricity generated by offshore wind turbines is added to the country’s energy mix.
This first paragraph gives more details of the project.
54 of 76 turbines have already been installed at Poland’s first offshore wind farm, with the first now generating electricity. Construction is scheduled for completion this autumn, ORLEN and Northland Power, the owners of the project, said.
When complete, the Baltic Power wind farm will generate up to 1.2 GW.
How Much Offshore Wind Does Poland Have Planned?
I asked Google AI, the question in the title of this section and received this reply.
Poland has massive offshore wind plans in the Baltic Sea.
The country targets 5.9 GW by 2030 and 18 GW by 2040. To meet these goals, the government is pursuing two primary development phases to transition the national grid away from coal.
A breakdown of Poland’s offshore wind rollout includes:
Phase I (Advanced Projects): Includes 5.9 GW of capacity.
Baltic Power: Poland’s first offshore wind farm (1.2 GW), developed by Orlen and Northland Power, officially connected to the national grid in July 2026.
Bałtyk 2 & 3: Equinor and Polenergia have finalized financing for an additional 1.4 GW, slated for commercial operation around 2028.
Phase II (Auction-Backed): Poland recently allocated over 3.4 GW in new capacity through competitive offshore wind auctions, pushing development well into the next decade.
Long-Term Outlook: Industry groups estimate the total technical potential in Poland’s portion of the Baltic Sea could reach up to 33 GW.
Will Poland Be Welcoming Any Invading Germany Wind Farms?
In New Study Shows How North Sea Offshore Wind Can Yield More While Costing Less, I talked about how Germany doesn’t have enough sea in which to place the wind farms it needs to generate the green electricity and hydrogen it needs.
This map from Wikipedia shows Exclusive Economic Zones in the North Sea, but it also shows who has control of the sea in the Baltic.
Note.
- Yellow is France.
- Mauve is Belgium, who drew the short straw.
- Light Blue is The Netherlands.
- Black is Germany, who despite their large land area, don’t have as much sea as the UK.
- Red is Denmark.
- Dark Blue is Norway.
- Green is The UK.
- Germany and Poland seen to share the Southern Baltic.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Germany and Poland co-operating to maximize the wind power capacity of the Southern Baltic.
A Visit To Poland’s Coal Capital
On one of my trips to Poland, I went to Katowice, which is in Poland’s coal-mining region. I wrote about it in An Excursion In Katowice.
Google AI produced this snapshot of Katowice.
Katowice is historically known as the “Polish Coal Capital” and served as the absolute backbone of the region’s heavy industry. First transforming into an industrial powerhouse in the mid-19th century due to rich local coal and metal reserves, the city’s economy and rapid growth were entirely reliant on coal mining and steel.
While coal and heavy industry historically anchored its identity, the city of Katowice has aggressively transformed into a modern cultural, technological, and business hub. The wider Silesia region remains heavily tied to coal mining, but the municipality itself has shifted its focus to avoid reliance on it.
My visit to Katowice was an excellent pit-stop on a train ride between Krakow and Prague, when I did my Home Run From Krakow.
If you like your food and like me, you’re coeliac, I would certainly recommend Poland for a few days away.
Strangely, the language is not a problem, as if you get three Poles together, one will speak English better than what you do.
DB And PKP To Expand Cross-Border Rail Services Between Germany And Poland
The title of this post, is the same of that as this article on Railway=News.
These two introductory paragraphs add more detail.
From mid-December 2025, Deutsche Bahn (DB) and PKP Intercity (PKP) are expanding their joint long-distance rail services, increasing the number of direct daily connections between Germany and Poland by more than 50 percent.
Starting on 14 December, 17 daily train pairs will operate across the border, up from the current 11. The additional capacity will provide a two-hourly service on the Berlin–Warsaw route, with seven trains in each direction.
I did a lot of this route, when I did a Home Run From Krakov.
I feel this German-Polish route will attract a lot of passengers, as it serves three excellent Polish cities Gdansk, Krakov and Warsaw, where you can spend a few days and it connects you to Berlin.
Back To The Dark Ages In West Virginia?
This article on WBOY is entitled West Virginia Senators Aim To Revitalize Coal Industry.
These are the introductory paragraphs.
If you’re tired of rising utility bills, you are not alone. West Virginia senators say they share the same feelings and believe the answer is right under our feet.
Revitalizing West Virginia’s coal industry and bringing down utility costs for customers is the goal of two pieces of legislation originating in the Senate.
A resolution known as the Coal Renaissance Act aims to keep current coal operations running as well as open up new opportunities for the industry, expanding mining in West Virginia.
According to Senators in support of the act, the optimum capacity factor for coal plants to run at is 69%. Currently, industry leaders say that number is down to around 30% to 40%.
A new bill known as the Reliable and Affordable Electricity Act incentivizes utility companies to rely on West Virginia coal.
There is also going to be a Senate bill, that will abolish tax breaks for wind farms.
In the UK, it is my belief, that coal died with the Aberfan disaster in 1966, which is described in this first paragraph of the disaster’s Wikipedia entry.
The Aberfan disaster (Welsh: Trychineb Aberfan) was the catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip on 21 October 1966. The tip had been created on a mountain slope above the Welsh village of Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil, and overlaid a natural spring. Heavy rain led to a build-up of water within the tip which caused it to suddenly slide downhill as a slurry, killing 116 children and 28 adults as it engulfed Pantglas Junior School and a row of houses. The tip was the responsibility of the National Coal Board (NCB), and the subsequent inquiry placed the blame for the disaster on the organisation and nine named employees.
I do have memories of coal mining in my brain.
- As a young child, I can remember being driven past the Kentish collieries and seeing the blackened landscape of the Garden of England.
- Newspapers of the 1950s and 1960s published, their share of mining disasters.
- In the 1980s, I drove through coal mining country in the United States and was appalled at all the fumes and smoke from the coal-fired power stations and the trucks delivering coal. Nothing as civilised as a merry-go-round train was used.
- In 2015, I visited Katowice and wrote An Excursion In Katowice. The air was thick with coal smoke from the coal-fired power stations.
I also remember at the Jobs Fair, when I left Liverpool University in 1968, seeing the recruiter from the National Coal Board sitting there alone, as if he’d got the plague. Graduates had decided, that no way, were they going to work in the coal industry.
The West Virginia senators, should be certified, if they want to bring back coal.
From Katowice To Prague
There was only one direct train I could catch from Katowice to Prague and that left at 12:22. So after my short tram trip around Katowice, I gave myself plenty of time to have salad before I got the train to Prague.
The journey went smoothly, if not at a great speed and with a half hour changeover between the Polish and Czech crews.
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An Excursion In Katowice
Katowice is one of those places that has stuck in my mind, because of a mining disaster in the 1950s or 1960s.
I took a walk around the station, followed by a tram trip for a short distance from the station, a relaxation in a park for half-an-hour or so and then a return to the station for my train to Prague.
It is a typical modern city, that is like many you see over Europe. Unlike Krakow, there weren’t that many older buildings.
But like me, if you need to change trains in the city, there are many worse places to stretch your legs, perhaps take an excursion on a tram or get yourself something to eat and drink.
What helps in Katowice is that the well-equipped station is linked to the main street, where the trams run, by a very modern shopping centre. I struggled at first to find a ticket machine, but as in many countries, you buy tickets from the tobacconist. But as it’s Poland, the first younger person, I asked, gave me directions in perfect English.
The Toilets In Katowice Station
When I saw the toilets, I just had to take pictures and they deserve a section of their own.
In some ways, these facilities are a great reason to choose Katowice as a station to change trains.
I think they cost me about twenty pence to enter.
They give the phrase going to the loo, a whole new meaning. Apparently 2theloo is a Dutch idea and company.
From Krakow To Katowice
This was an early leg, as I wanted to get to Katowice in time to have a look round before my train left at 12:22 for Prague.
The journey was pleasant enough in an electric suburban train.
The Anonymous Widower 