The commencement of the construction of the operational and service base, which will be used to service offshore wind farms, is an undertaking preceded by many months of preparatory process. Already at this stage, it is necessary to hire contractors for the work needed to carry out the investment. In the case of preparing the construction of the PGE Baltica operational and service base in Ustka, the company involved Polish entities, which shows that domestic companies can successfully join the development of offshore wind energy in Poland.

The PGE Baltica base will be built in the western part of the port of Ustka, on the site of a part of the former fish processing plant. The service center is to be used for ongoing monitoring of PGE's wind farms in the Baltic Sea as well as planned and ad hoc repairs of offshore wind turbine components. Vessels with service crews and spare parts will depart from here. PGE Baltica also wants to build a Maritime Wind Energy Competence Center in this area, where future service technicians will be trained.

The key to good investment preparation

Before choosing and purchasing the right property with access to the waterfront, the investor checks whether the given location is the best for the construction of a service base. However, before the construction works start, it is necessary to plan all the necessary analyzes and studies regarding the land intended for the future service base, perform an inventory of the area, carefully assess the possibilities of the selected location in terms of the tasks it is to fulfill, so as to optimally use the available area of the property. Along the way, the investor announces procurement procedures and selects companies that will carry out the investment for him - from preparatory and analytical work, through the contractor of the conceptual design and land development design, to the contractor of the construction design, contract engineer and general contractor, who, after obtaining a building permit, will start the proper construction work.

Research for efficient navigation and operational capabilities

The preparation of the service port construction investment must be preceded by thorough research conducted throughout the port. It is necessary, e.g. analyzes of maritime access infrastructure, which will allow to precisely determine the parameters prevailing on the approach to the port and inside the port channel, which directly affects the navigation capabilities of a given port. Several ships will permanently keep watch at the port quays - they'll sometimes have to sail to the area of wind farms in emergency situations. It is precisely in terms of efficient navigation and operational capabilities that the port must be properly prepared. These research works are carried out for PGE Baltica by the Institute of Hydroengineering of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Gdańsk.

– Scientists study for us, among other things, waves, changes in water levels inside the port, sea currents and the transport of sediments related to them. They check how the local natural conditions will affect the designed hydrotechnical facilities. They set the parameters necessary to plan maintenance and investment works that improve the conditions in a given port and make it possible to increase the availability of a given infrastructure - says Tomasz Wiśniewski, senior project manager for port investments at PGE Baltica. - We're checking the possibility of building wave absorbers or breakwaters. They can reduce waves inside the entire port channel. This may allow to increase the potential related to the number of berths for service vessels in the port and safe navigation inside the port channel during unfavorable weather conditions at sea. The effect of these tasks will have an impact on the final scope and shape of the project of the operational and service base - adds Tomasz Wiśniewski.

Specialists will be trained in the "old net factory" building

A comprehensive inventory of the existing land, consisting of several volumes of documentation, was prepared for PGE Baltica by Antea Polska S.A., which specializes in consulting in the field of engineering and the environment. The objects subject to the inventory included buildings and typical port elements, including quays, former production halls and buildings of the so-called old and new fishing net factories. The result of the inventory will be documentation allowing for the performance of the necessary maintenance activities and the implementation of preparatory work.

- The contractor carried out soil tests, which did not show contamination of the area. It also collected the documentation necessary to apply for a permit to start work on the buildings to be demolished. At the same time, it should be noted that the building of the old net factory will not be demolished. In this large, very characteristic, historic building, we plan to create a competence center where new solutions for offshore wind energy will be tested. Specialists for the operation of offshore wind farms will also be trained there - says Maciej Bałchanowski, construction expert at PGE Baltica.

The best concept chosen

Another entity providing services commissioned by PGE Baltica is the Wuprohyd design office from Gdynia, which specializes in designing port infrastructure and hydrotechnical structures. The contractor will implement the design of a complex of office and social facilities and a spare parts warehouse along with land development and complete above-ground and underground infrastructure (including electrical, telecommunications and sanitary installations) constituting elements of the future operational and service base. The project team will also research on land, in water and in laboratories, which are to allow for the adaptation and reconstruction of quays for the needs of the base. The result of multi-variant analyzes will be a set of design documentation enabling the initiation of a tender procedure for the selection of a general contractor for construction works.

Out of three variants of the land development concept, taking into account the division of real estate into individual functions, the company chose the one that best adapts the port area to the needs of servicing offshore wind farms, and at the same time fits into the current development of the port and its tourist character. The start of construction works is planned for 2024.

The port will gain a new face

– Design works are carried out in stages. We have made a detailed analysis of the possibilities of developing our property. We have designated areas for individual functions along with their key parameters. On this basis, several variants of using the available space were developed. After conducting a multi-criteria analysis, we made the selection of the optimal land in our opinion development plan and the layout of cubature facilities - explains Ernest Lewandowski, an expert on port investments at PGE Baltica. - We are currently at the stage of developing documentation that will be the basis for the construction project. In addition, the contractor prepares for us e.g. description of the technical parameters of the devices necessary to fully use the potential of the operational and service base - he enumerates.

The port area in the western part of Ustka will change its face in the next few years. The investment in the service and operational base will revitalize the area of the port, which has not been used for several decades. In the place of the former fishing enterprise, modern infrastructure necessary for the efficient functioning of the service center will be built. PGE Baltica hired Polish companies to prepare its construction, which turned out to be the best in tender procedures. Other tenders will include general contractor. It will be another opportunity for companies from the region to take part in the construction of one of the projects related to offshore wind farms.