On 29-30 September, representatives of the Wind Industry Hub Foundation and the Polish Wind Energy Association participated in the British-Polish Offshore Seminar at the Embassy of the United Kingdom in Warsaw. The meeting, attended by experts from the British government and representatives of offshore wind sector institutions, was a great opportunity to exchange experiences with the mature British OWF market, hold interesting meetings and establish contacts with key players in the industry. The seminar was also attended by numerous representatives of Polish companies, and the event partners were Wind Industry Hub, PSEW and the Industrial Development Agency.
The Polish offshore industry was represented by Dominika Taranko, who, together with Maciej Mierzwiński from CEE Energy Group, presented the assumptions of the Polish Strategy for the Development of the Offshore Wind Farm Industry. Next, Piotr Czopek, Vice-President of WIH and PSEW, gave a lecture on the wind energy market in Poland. During the subsequent sessions, our British guests presented the offshore wind sector in the United Kingdom – the event’s extensive programme allowed for the discussion of topics such as: the UK’s experience with CfD auctions, OFTO financing, the perspective of a British developer in the industry, gaining the trust of local communities, building a strong national supply chain, accelerating the development of the MEW sector, leasing seabed for projects, and the perspective of a system operator.
The speakers at the seminar were:
➡️ Alexandra Connon, Senior Analyst, Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult
➡️ Jennifer McGregor, Senior Stakeholder Manager – Offshore Transmission, Ofgem
➡️ Pavel Miller, Head of Corporate Affairs and Regulation, International, SSE Renewables
➡️ Patrick Allcorn, Head of Local Net Zero Demonstration and Delivery, Department for Energy Security and Net Zero
➡️ Davood Sabaei, Supply Chain Manager, Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult
➡️ Norman Morrison, Development Manager – Offshore Wind, Crown Estate Scotland
➡️ Alex Thompson, Marine Strategy Director – Offshore Wind, Crown Estate
➡️ Thomas Manicom, Strategy Development Manager, National Energy System Operator
➡️ Marcus Cartmell, Network Plan Delivery Manager – Strategic Energy Planning, National Energy System Operator
The first offshore wind farm was built in the United Kingdom in 2004. Today, the country is among the global market leaders, with 18 GW of installed capacity and the largest projects in Europe. This made our meeting with representatives of the British industry all the more valuable, as was learning from their lessons learned.
We would like to express our sincere thanks to the Embassy for organising this interesting event!
