The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has granted a €200mn loan to support the development of Poland's Baltica 2 offshore wind farm, the development bank said in a press release.

The loan is being provided by a syndicate of banks including the European Investment Bank, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego and Denmark’s Export and Investment Fund as well as other commercial lenders.

The wind farm will be a boon for Poland, which is struggling to meet its green transition targets and remains heavily dependent on coal-fired power stations to fuel its rapid economic growth – amongst the best in Europe.

A draft of the long-awaited and very ambitious Polish National Energy and Climate Plan for 2030-2040 was released in November but progress on its implementation has remained slow and the government’s commitment to executing the plan remains in doubt. Two-third of Poland’s electricity is still generated by hard coal and lignite, while the development of wind power has stalled and nuclear power is still a decade and a half away, say experts.

The Baltica 2 wind project will take a bite out of those problems. It is poised to become the largest wind farm in the Baltic Sea, boasting a capacity of up to 1.5 GW and projected to generate approximately 5,000 GWh of electricity annually. That will meet around 3% of Poland's current electricity demand and mitigate over 3.5mn tonnes per year (tpy) of CO₂ emissions.

Poland's green transition goal is to generate well over half (58%) of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030, as part of the country’s energy strategy.

According to data from Low-Carbon Power, approximately 70% of Poland's electricity was generated from fossil fuels, with coal accounting for over half of the total production.

Renewable energy sources contributed around 30% to the electricity mix with wind power a significant contributor, providing over 18% of the country's electricity in December 2024, according to Statista. Solar energy also saw substantial growth, with Poland producing 11.3 TWh of solar-generated electricity in the first seven months of 2024, up by a third (33.3%) compared to the same period in 2023, Reuters reports.

This is the EBRD’s second large investment into Polish wind power, following its support of the first Baltic Power project, Poland's inaugural offshore wind farm. In September 2023, the EBRD extended a €140mn loan to Baltic Power that has a designed capacity of up to 1.2 GW and generates approximately 4,000 GWh of electricity annually, accounting for about 2-3% of Poland's current electricity generation. That project is expected to mitigate 2.8mn tpy of CO₂ emissions.

Developed by Elektrownia Wiatrowa, Baltica-2, a joint venture between Poland's PGE and global offshore wind leader Ørsted, the project exemplifies international collaboration in the pursuit of sustainable energy solutions. The wind farm is expected to commence operations by 2027, providing renewable energy to approximately 2.4mn consumers.

To date, the EBRD has invested nearly €15.4bn in Poland, reinforcing its long-term commitment to sustainable energy initiatives and economic development in the region.