A cold blast from Denmark. Vestas gives up its turbine factory in Poland

Vestas decided to suspend the construction of a turbine factory in Szczecin due to weak demand in Europe. As the Financial Times writes, the decision of the Danish group is a challenge for the offshore wind energy sector on the Old Continent.

The leading European wind turbine manufacturer, Vestas, announced last year that it would build a plant near Szczecin to produce blades used in wind turbines.

However, the Danish company has now decided to suspend the investment, which was to be opened in 2026 and employ over 1,000 people.

The company told the Financial Times that the plans were “on hold due to lower-than-expected demand for offshore wind in Europe.”

It was assumed that the factory would be built in Skolwin, in the northern part of Szczecin. The Danish manufacturer intended to produce blades for offshore wind turbines there, primarily for its flagship V236-15MW model.

As “FT” writes, the European offshore wind energy sector is struggling with higher costs, bottlenecks in the supply chain and political opposition in the US.

The EU, UK and Norway have a combined offshore wind target of at least 129 GW in operation or under construction by the end of the decade.

However, consultancy TGS 4C says Europe is on track to deliver only around 84 GW, with Denmark and Germany failing to find bidders for the projects in separate auctions over the past 12 months.

As the FT points out, offshore wind energy is crucial to Poland's ecological efforts, with several projects underway that aim to transform the waters of Poland's northern coast into one of the largest hubs for wind farms in Europe.

Vestas has already invested in Poland, building a facility to assemble nacelles that house critical turbine components and purchasing a facility that produces blades for land turbines.

However, the planned factory in Szczecin was to be its largest Polish investment to date, located on land purchased in 2023. It was intended to produce blades for Vestas' flagship offshore turbines, each capable of generating 15 MW.

The first offshore turbines in Poland are expected to become operational next year as part of the €4.7 billion joint venture Baltic Power, controlled by Orlen and Canada's Northland Power, using Vestas as a supplier.

Poland wants Baltic Power and other large projects to deliver 18 GW of offshore power by 2040, or roughly half of Europe's current capacity. (PAP Business)

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