Behind us are further meetings with fishermen in Ustka, Leba and Wladyslawowo, during which Baltic Power, a joint project of ORLEN and Northland Power, proposed implementing a transitional compensation scheme for operators of commercial fishing boats that have their fishing grounds in the area of the future construction of the offshore wind farm and the export cable route. It also includes operators of recreational fishing boats. The system was designed by Sotis Advisors in cooperation with MIR-PIB.
We have been working on behalf of Baltic Power since April of this year, including conducting public surveys and participating in meetings with fishermen, public administration, designing the transitional compensation system, and receiving and reviewing compensation applications. At the last meeting, held on October 18-20 in Ustka, Leba and Władysławowo, Baltic Power representatives discussed, among other things, the details of the interim compensation system. It is valid for the duration of the construction of Baltic Power’s offshore wind farm, or until the introduction of legal regulations developed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in cooperation with the Ministry of Climate.
The Baltic Power farm (~1.2GW), located at Łeba and Choczew, is expected to cover up to 3 per cent of the country’s energy needs, which corresponds to the needs of more than 1.5 million households in Poland. It is the only project that has reached the construction phase. The onshore part of it is currently underway, and an offshore installation campaign will begin in 2025. Construction is scheduled to be completed in 2026.
“Every meeting with the fishing community deepens our knowledge of this economic sector, we better understand the concerns and problems of fishermen, we establish better and better relations based on mutual trust and we are all waiting for official regulations that will objectify the compensation mechanism for all offshore wind farm developers. We have prepared an interim compensation scheme in a few months by developing different variants in the meantime, while everyone has been waiting for the official regulations since September 2021. We realise that it is not perfect or solves all the problems, but it is there and that is the most important thing for the moment. We can keep learning!” – says Anita Kuliś of Sotis Advisors.
Photo Baltic Power
