Polish energy company ORLEN Group announced on Monday (16 October) that it has signed a preliminary agreement, via its subsidiary Energa Wytwarzanie, with Polish company Lewandpol Holding to acquire a special purpose vehicle developing the hybrid “Kleczew Solar & Wind” farm.
The project is being carried out in the Kleczew commune in the Wielkopolska Voivodeship (western Poland), with a total capacity of up to 334 megawatts (MW).
“We are effectively implementing our strategy, the pillar of which is renewable energy sources. As a result of the investments already carried out, the ORLEN Group is currently the third largest producer of energy from renewable energy sources in Poland. Over the next seven years, we will allocate 120 billion zlotys for the implementation of green projects, thus obtaining 9 GW of installed renewable energy capacity,” said Daniel Obajtek, ORLEN’s President of the Management Board.
The “Kleczew Solar & Wind” project, implemented by Lewandpol Holding with comprehensive support from Ergy Asset Management, is divided into three stages, the first of which includes the construction of a 193.1 MW photovoltaic installation and a 19.2 MW wind farm. In the next two stages, the installed capacity of the photovoltaic farm is planned to increase by around 122 MW. As a result, the entire hybrid installation could reach approximately 334 MW of installed power, ORLEN said in a press release.
“‘Kleczew Solar & Wind’ is a project that will enrich our portfolio with additional generation capacity and bring us significantly closer to our goal. The investment will serve the whole of Poland, strengthening the country’s energy security. In particular, it will provide an impulse for further development of the Kleczew commune, which will benefit its inhabitants,” added Mr Obajtek.
According to preliminary estimates, the hybrid renewables farm could power around 200,000 households per year. Moreover, the project foresees a future expansion with additional wind turbines and an energy storage facility, ORLEN said in the press release.
The project will operate in the cable-pooling formula, enabling optimal use of connection conditions by connecting several assets to one connection. Cable-pooling works particularly well in the case of coupling wind and photovoltaic farms, which very rarely operate at full power at the same time, ORLEN said in the press release.
The construction of the photovoltaic farm is currently in the first stage of development. Its test power supply took place in June this year, with the sale of electricity planned to start in early 2024. The entire construction of the hybrid installation is expected to be completed in 2025.
The signing of the final agreement on the special purpose vehicle and completion of the acquisition will be possible once the conditions in the preliminary agreement are met. The transaction is expected to be finalised in the first quarter of 2025 at the latest.
