An operation and maintenance base for the PGE Group's offshore wind farms and the Competence Center for Offshore Wind Energy will be built in the Ustka harbor on the Poland’s Baltic Sea coast, about 150 km west of Gdańsk. PGE Baltica, which implements the PGE Group's offshore program, presented plans for the development of port areas for the needs of its offshore projects.

- The decision to establish our future operational and maintenance base in Ustka is an important step in the development of PGE Group projects related to offshore wind energy. Our investment will change not only the harbor itself. We are convinced that it will also be an impulse to the development of the entire region and will allow for the creation of new jobs - commented Wojciech Dąbrowski, President of the Management Board of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna.

Offshore wind farms require constant monitoring and maintenance. Located nearby and with the necessary infrastructure and logistics facilities, the service center is a key element of any offshore investment.

- Developing an operational and maintenance base in Ustka is the most optimal solution for us. Thanks to good navigational and technical conditions of the port, appropriate depth of both the approach and the port canal, service vessels will be able to depart to the area of ​​offshore wind farms without any problems. The onshore base, which will be provided by our location in Ustka, a well-connected town with accommodation facilities, local authorities open to participation in the offshore revolution, are also important - commented Dariusz Lociński, President of the Management Board of PGE Baltica.

Specialists working in the O&M base on a continuous basis - 24 hours a day, seven daysa week - they will monitor the operation of offshore wind farms and the condition of installations located at sea and on land. The base will host technical facilities and storage space for service crews. It will include, among others warehouse for spare parts and tools necessary for servicing offshore wind farms, arranged wharf for docking vessels, as well as office space. The base will also coordinate emergency and routine service work.

An Offshore Wind Energy Competence Center will also be built in the port of Ustka. Future offshore specialists will be able to acquire training necessary to work in the maintenance of infrastructure and development of offshore wind farms. The Competence Center will also test and implement new innovative related technologies related to offshore wind energy.

The O&M base will be built by PGE Baltica, a company from the PGE Group. The company has already started developing the most optimal concept for land development. The reconstruction of the wharf was planned in such a way as to allow the technical staff to use part of the area already at the stage of development of offshore wind farms. According to the schedule, the first construction works in the Ustka harbor will begin in 2024. The O&M center will start operating in 2026.