RWE and Siemens Games have joined forces to strengthen the offshore wind energy sector

RWE signed an agreement with its preferred supplier for RWE F.E.W. Baltic II offshore wind farm with a capacity of 350 MW; 25 SG 14-236 DD turbines are planned; the local supply chain will strengthen the Polish investment contribution.

Siemens Gamesa will launch the Baltic Sea Offshore Execution Centre in Gdańsk, which will create over 150 jobs. An agreement was signed with Polish university partners to support education towards offshore wind energy.

RWE and Siemens Games have joined forces to accelerate the development of the Polish offshore wind energy sector. RWE selected Siemens Games as the preferred supplier for the F.E.W. Baltic II project. The 350 MW offshore wind farm is expected to use 25 flagship offshore wind turbines SG 14-236 DD of Siemens Games production. Cooperation also includes a service contract. Depending on the final investment decision, construction work could begin as early as 2024. After the start-up, F.E.W. Baltic II will contribute to the energy transformation of Poland, producing green electricity in sufficient quantities to meet the needs of approximately 350,000 Polish households.

The selection of Siemens Games as a preferred supplier is another milestone on the way to the realization of our first Polish offshore wind farm. Thanks to the F.E.W. Baltic II project, we will accelerate the development of the local supply chain and contribute significantly to the training of future staff. Marine wind energy is gaining momentum in Poland, and we want to be one of its main engines through the development, construction and operation of further wind farms off the Polish coast.

Sven Utermöhlen, CEO of Offshore Wind at RWE Renewables

The agreement with RWE concerning the offshore wind farm F.E.W. Baltic II will contribute to the continuation of Siemens Games' cooperation with the Polish supply chain in the wind energy sector, whose average annual volume of purchases of goods and services in Poland is over 250 million euros.

Marine wind energy quickly becomes a huge asset of Poland, and we will do our best to be one of the key players in its implementation. We are honored to be chosen by the RWE as the preferred supplier for F.E.W. Baltic II, one of the first offshore investments in this country. The combination of our offshore wind turbine technology SG 14-236 DD with RWE's business approach to Poland is an excellent solution. We are also impressed by the efforts of our academic partners to develop future staff for offshore industry in Poland. We are convinced that this development programme will follow the path set by the Polish supply chain, in which qualified companies already carry out many projects, and others are yet to come.

Marc Becker, CEO of Siemens Games Offshore Business Unit

More than 150 experts will work to support the implementation of the F.E.W. Baltic II project by RWE and other future offshore projects in the new Siemens Games Centre Baltic Sea Offshore Execution (Realization of Offshore Projects in the Baltic Sea). Specialists employed in this unit will deal with areas such as pre-assembly, project management, construction management, launching of offshore wind farms in Poland and many other countries. Gdańsk will be the main location of the office and the first recruitments have already begun. Together with the 20-member Siemens Games Offshore Sales team in Poland, it will be the largest such operation in the offshore wind energy industry in our country.

For the operation and maintenance of the F.E.W. Baltic II project, RWE selected a port in Ustka. Thanks to the planned service station on the Polish coast, the company intends to contribute to the development of the local economy and society, creating up to 50 new jobs in the long term. The service station is expected to be ready by 2025. RWE plans to operate a wind farm from this port for at least 25 years.

RWE and Siemens Games also signed a cooperation agreement with the Maritime Academy in Szczecin. The agreement focuses on identifying joint actions to support student education. It also includes an examination of the possibilities of cooperation with certain research projects.

Signing an agreement with companies that are the world's leading wind energy industry is a great honour for us on the one hand and, on the other hand, creates opportunities for mutual development and benefits. I am convinced that in our teaching cooperation we will create one of the best in the world, a practical education program, in which the employees of RWE and Siemens Games share knowledge and experience in modern technologies. I hope that the development of cooperation will also result in the transfer of knowledge to RWE and Siemens Games. Already today, many of them have expertise in both securing, direct handling, and exploitation of marine technologies, as well as in dealing with problems there. We expect joint ventures to extend the possibility of performing or using research equipment produced at the Maritime Academy and verifying scientific concepts in the field, on a wind farm. This is important in terms of training staff with the highest, most important competences in every corner of the world.

Artur Bejger, Vice President for Science of the Maritime Academy in Szczecin

Source: RWE