Vestas plans to establish a second wind turbine factory in Poland to meet the growing demand for offshore wind energy in Europe

Vestas wants to become a leader in offshore wind energy, supporting the construction of offshore wind farms in Europe, and announced a new blade factory in Szczecin, Poland. The factory is planned to produce blades for Vestas’ flagship offshore wind turbine, the V236-15.0 MW, and is expected to begin operation in 2026, creating more than 1,000 direct jobs. Coupled with Vestas’ previously announced plans to establish an assembly factory for nacelles in Szczecin, and Vestas could grow with more than 1,700 direct jobs by 2026.

“Vestas intends to lead the development of a sustainable supply chain in Europe that can deliver the scale needed to meet the expected growth in demand for offshore wind. “The two new offshore factories in Poland underline that Europe can stimulate investments in the wind industry and green jobs with the right long-term political commitments to offshore wind projects,” says Tommy Rahbek Nielsen, COO of Vestas.

“Poland is transforming its energy system and is a promising wind energy market with good wind conditions both onshore and offshore. Poland has a highly skilled workforce and a growing wind industry that can become a marine hub for the Baltic region and the rest of Europe. We have been market leaders in Poland for over 20 years and it is an honor for me to announce our upcoming investment plans in Szczecin,” says Nils de Baar, President of Vestas Northern & Central Europe.

The new offshore blade factory is planned to be located on a site in the north of Szczecin, which Vestas acquired in February 2023. The site is near the Ostrów Brdowski island in Szczecin, where the blade assembly factory would be located. planned nacelles from Vestas. The assembly factory is expected to begin operations in 2025 and create 700 direct jobs.

The new factories are planned to support European and to some extent global demand, playing a crucial role in supporting Poland and the European offshore wind market and industry. With the two new factories in Szczecin and Vestas’ existing presence, Vestas is expected to soon employ more than 2,500 people in Poland.

Vestas’ manufacturing footprint strategy is to prioritize markets where there is long-term certainty about market conditions and we have secured sustainable order volume. Other locations where those conditions are met are also being considered for new wind turbine capacity.