The construction of one of the largest photovoltaic farms in Poland has been completed. The investment in the village of Stępień in the municipality of Braniewo can produce 61 GWh of energy annually. It has been completed and will be managed by Wento, which is 100 per cent owned by Equinor.

“With Wento, we can expand our photovoltaic portfolio in one of the fastest growing renewable energy markets in Europe. In the first year of our joint operations, we started the process of building three photovoltaic farms in Poland, with a total net capacity of 171 MW. Today, we are proud to present the first of these, and the other two should be operational between 2023 and 2024”, says Olav Kolbeinstveit of Equinor.

The photovoltaic farm in Stępień consists of 100,000 solar panels spread over an area of 65 hectares. It will produce 61 GWh of energy per year, which corresponds to the demand of approximately 31,000 Polish households. During the construction and operation phases of the farm, the investor cooperates with local contractors, supporting the development of the Polish supply chain for solar installations.

The potential for renewable energy sources to help decarbonise the energy system is still very high in Poland. The dynamic development of further sources of green energy will allow to change the structure of the energy mix, still largely based on coal.

“Poland is undergoing an energy transition and is actively developing the country’s RES generation potential in order to respond to the demand for energy supply, while at the same time increasing energy security. Equinor participates in the realisation of these ambitions by developing a multi-source based energy offering for Poland, including onshore and offshore renewable energy in our country”, says Equinor Poland’s CEO Michał Jerzy Kołodziejczyk.
Arkadiusz Słomczyński