RWE launches Polish wind farm

RWE has completed the final stage of Suwalki Wind Farm investment. After the installation of towers, nacelles, blades, rotors and generators, the time has come to put the turbines on-stream. Commissioning of the wind turbines will increase Poland’s wind energy generation by around 10% in comparison to 2008.

Each 100 metre-high tower has an almost 93 metre-diameter rotor installed. The wind power of the wind turbines will allow annual production of at least 80 million kilowatt hours of electricity, avoiding atmospheric emissions of around 80 thousand tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2).

Construction of wind farms is very important to the Polish renewable energy market. As the Polish legislation is streamlined with EU directives, the demand for renewable energy and wind energy is growing rapidly – from 5.8 TWh in 2007, to the expected 13.4 TWh in 2010, that is respectively 5.1% and 10.4% of energy sold to end users.

“The generation of electricity through renewable energy sources, like wind energy, plays a strategic role within the RWE generation mix. We will continuously increase our installed capacity in Poland and other European countries. With approximately 1,420 MW installed megawatts RWE is one of the leading generators and suppliers of wind energy in Europe” – stated Paul Coffey, COO of RWE Innogy.

“Potential for development of technologies for capturing the energy from renewable sources is still huge. This is why RWE, looking into the future, is committed to building wind power stations. I am glad that our investment in Wind Park Suwalki will contribute to increase of generation of clean energy and will increase its share in Poland’s energy mix” – said Janusz Moroz, Member of the Management board of RWE Polska.

“I am glad that more and more investors recognise the potential of our region. Thanks to the construction of the Suwalki Wind Park our commune has not only gained opportunities for faster development, but also a significant financial support from the real estate tax. Although the Suwalki Wind Farm is the first investment of this kind in our area, I hope other companies will follow the steps of RWE. We have very good conditions for construction of wind power stations. And one must remember, that wind generators are not just the green environmentally friendly energy, but also a curiosity, a tourist attraction, that can make our region even more recognisable.” – said Tadeusz Cholko, Mayor of Suwalki.

The Suwalki investment is one of the first in the pipeline of wind energy projects implemented by RWE in Poland. By 2015 RWE plans to build 300 megawatts of power from this source. The next stage of RWE’s investments in wind power will be the construction of a wind farm in Tychowo. Its completion is planned for 2010. RWE is planning to install fifteen 2.3 megawatt wind turbines at this location.

http://www.rwe.com/web/cms/en/113648/rwe/press-news/press-release/?pmid=4004130