Site Application

The preparation for the construction of an offshore wind farm in the Polish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Baltic Sea is a lengthy and multi-stage process. The process starts with an application for a location permit and obtaining by the Investor a location decision (PSZW – permit to erect and use artificial islands, structures, and equipment for offshore wind farms (Art. 23. of the Act of 21 March 1991. on maritime areas of the Republic of Poland and maritime administration)) for the body of water designated in the PSZW adopted by way of the Ordinance of the Council of Ministers of 14 April 2021 on the adoption of the spatial development plan for internal maritime waters, territorial sea, and the exclusive economic zone in the scale 1:200 000 (Journal of Laws of 2021, item 935). If two or more applications for a location for the same body of water are received, a determination procedure based on strictly defined criteria for assessing the applications is initiated.

To facilitate the Client’s application preparation process, Ambiens carries out activities generally referred to as Site Application, focusing on supervising and coordinating the creation of the PSZW application and its completion.

In view of the wide range of data relating to the marine environment, it is extremely important to cooperate with experts from various fields and experience in assessing the environmental impact of an investment. Managing the creation of such a document also involves cooperation with our regular legal and technical advisers.

The final product is a thoroughly prepared fully coordinated application with all the necessary annexes, including a description of the environmental part, which we create based on the latest literature, contemporary monitoring programmes, and our specialist experience.

Ambiens has prepared PSZW applications for 11 areas in the Baltic Sea in the Polish EEZ during the second phase of offshore wind farm development in Poland. Nevertheless, our readiness for site application activities is not closed only to the Polish part of the Baltic Sea, but is open to other Baltic Sea countries, where applications like the Polish ones are also required (Tab.1). The development of the application response to the legislative requirements of the markets concerned, while from a business perspective, our involvement at this stage maps risks, indicates ways of mitigating them and outlines the project schedule and budget. The stage preceding the preparation of the PSZW application, and helpful in the selection of the area, for which such an application is submitted, is the Site assessment – a multi-criteria evaluation of areas for the OWF, considering the characteristics of individual areas and the Client’s priorities https://ambiens.pl/blog/site-assessment/.

Table 1 Applications for new offshore wind farm sites required in the Baltic countries