Problems of Development of Offshore Wind Power in the Southern Baltic

Abstract

According to the assumptions adopted by the European Union, the average share of renewableenergy in the consumption of gross final energy in 2020 in member states should reach 20%. It is estimatedthat approx. 60-70% of this amount will be energy obtained from wind. This includes energy from offshorewind farms whose numbers, due to fewer restrictions regarding their location, much better aerodynamicconditions (windiness), favourable legal and financial conditions and the possibility of using larger and moreefficient equipment, have been rapidly growing for a decade. Thus, the possibility of development of offshorewind energy (OWE) in the southern Baltic in light of European solutions, with particular emphasis on Polishexperience started to appear in considerations. An analysis of the potential of establishing offshore windfarms and marine power lines and them operating in the current and the anticipated state of the law has beenconducted. Due to the nature of the spatial and organizational structure of OWE a lot of attention has beendevoted to the analysis of international conditions of operation of offshore wind farms in Europe, includingthose in the southern Baltic. Current findings indicate that the prospects for development of this type of energyare strongly determined not only by economic factors but also by political factors on the national andinternational level.