On the second day of the Offshore Wind Poland 2025 Conference, the MEW Industry Strategy for the West Pomeranian Voivodeship and the city of Szczecin was inaugurated. It was developed by the Wind Industry Hub, the Polish Wind Energy Association and the CEE Energy Group. The study identified key barriers to development in the region:
❌️ lack of large anchor companies
❌️ low innovation
❌️ lack of cooperation on complex projects
❌️ brain drain and negative demographics
❌️ mismatch between education and industry needs
In the study, we summarised the available analyses of the region’s potential in the context of offshore wind industry development, covering both the region’s strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats. West Pomerania has unique advantages: access to seaports, potential investment areas, a growing presence of international investors, and a location at the centre of the Baltic offshore market (in particular the Ławica Odrzańska projects). At the same time, the region faces serious challenges: depopulation, a lack of and outflow of young professionals, the challenge of adapting education to the needs of the economy, a lack of large anchor companies, a low level of innovation and fragmentation of industrial cooperation. On the other hand, its location at the centre of the European maritime reindustrialisation wave and access to EU funds are opportunities.
Solutions could include strategic packages to strengthen local content in the supply chain, research and development, financing the development of residents’ skills, promoting the region and focusing education on the needs of the industry. The region has everything it needs to become the ‘Wind Factory of Europe’!
The launch of the Strategy was accompanied by an interesting discussion with the participation of:
Maciej Mierzwiński, CEE Energy Group
Andrzej Montwiłł, Plenipotentiary of the Marshal of the West Pomeranian Province for renewable energy sources and hydrogen technology development
Patryk Zbroja, Zbroja Adwokaci sp.k.
Artur Lijewski, Management Board of the Port of Kołobrzeg
Daniel Kisała, Offshore Wind Cluster
Michał Forycki, Wind Industry Hub
Krzysztof Pietrusewicz, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin
We would like to express our sincere thanks for participating in the discussion. A summary of the document will soon be available online!
