Ocean Winds has signed an agreement with the Polish company Crist Offshore for the design, construction and commissioning of an offshore substation (OSS) for the offshore wind project “BC-Wind”.
This is the first time that a Polish supplier has been selected as a so-called TIER 1 contractor for such a central infrastructure project in an offshore wind farm. This is a milestone for the Polish offshore wind industry and a sign of the country’s growing capabilities in the renewable energy sector.
Ocean Winds, an international company focusing on offshore wind energy, was founded as a 50:50 joint venture between EDP Renewables and Engie. The agreement now concluded with Crist Offshore Sp. z o.o. covers the planning, construction and commissioning of the offshore substation for the BC Wind project. This is the first agreement of its kind with a Polish Tier 1 supplier and represents significant progress in the development of an independent offshore industry in Poland.
CRIST builds substation in Gdynia
The substation, which is currently in the design phase, will be built by Crist Offshore at the shipyard site in Gdynia. It will be equipped with all the necessary primary electrical equipment and will have a total weight of around 2,000 tons. The offshore installation of the station is scheduled for mid-2027 and is expected to employ over 400 skilled workers.
“The signing of this contract is a significant step that confirms Crist Offshore’s expertise and commitment to realizing challenging projects in the offshore wind market. It is also a milestone for the entire Polish offshore wind industry, which is becoming increasingly important internationally. The cooperation on this project shows that Polish companies can compete with the world’s leading providers and play a key role in the further development of renewable energies,” explains Dan Finch, Country Manager of Ocean Winds in Poland.
Offshore substations play a central role in the infrastructure of offshore wind farms. They receive the electricity generated by the wind turbines at sea, convert it and transmit it to land. As part of the “BC-Wind” project, the electricity generated is transported to the substation in the Baltic Sea via an internal cable network and then forwarded to the land station in the municipality of Choczewo via a submarine cable.
