Equinor starts test production in a Polish photovoltaic farm

Lipno is located in the Greater Poland Voivodeship, in central Poland. The 53 MW solar power plant was built and will be operated by Polish renewable energy producer Wento, a 100% subsidiary of Equinor.

Materials trading portfolio

Equinor acquired Wento and its 1.6 GW solar projects in 2021. Three years after the acquisition, Wento has grown from a small solar developer to a multi-technology power producer, operating three solar plants and one onshore wind farm in Poland with a total capacity ~200 MW.

“Wento’s journey demonstrates how we are leveraging our investments in local development companies to build a tangible and profitable onshore renewables business in targeted markets,” said Anders Bade, senior vice president, onshore and markets, Renewables at Equinor.

The cumulative annual production from the portfolio operated by Wento is estimated at approximately 280 GWh/y, which corresponds to the electricity consumption of approximately 140,000 Polish households.

Equinor’s energy trading company, Danske Commodities, has signed a balancing agreement with a photovoltaic power plant in Lipno and will be responsible for the commercialization of the produced energy on the Polish energy market. Lipno is expected to deliver returns in line with Equinor’s prior renewables guidance.

Danske Commodities provides a route to market for Wento’s operating assets, drawing on almost 15 years of experience in energy trading in Poland.

“We have developed a distinct business model that allows us to effectively scale our portfolio of onshore renewables and deliver value growth through energy trading,” concluded Bade.

Building profitable growth

Since the acquisition, Wento has grown its project portfolio, effectively doubling it to over 3 GW of capabilities at various stages of maturity. The pipeline’s offering has been diversified beyond power generation to also include battery storage, increasing flexibility and increasing value creation potential.

“Poland is actively developing renewable energy to increase national energy capacity and increase energy security. For Wento and Equinor, this means an exciting opportunity to be a leading player in the growing renewable energy market,” comments Wojciech Cetnarski, CEO of Wento.

Earlier this year, Wento won the Polish Power Market auction with four battery storage projects with a total capacity of approximately 400 MW/1.6 GWh.

Final investment decisions regarding the projects are expected in the coming years. Battery storage systems will be crucial to the future stability of Poland’s grid as the country increases its share of renewable energy.

More news and technical articles from the global renewable energy industry can be found in the latest issue of Energy Global magazine.

Energy Global Spring 2024 issue

The Spring 2024 issue of Energy Global begins with guest commentary from Field on how battery storage can serve as a viable solution to reduced energy consumption, before moving on to a regional report by Théodore Reed-Martin, editorial assistant at Energy Global, looking at the state of renewable energy sources in Europe. This issue also includes a number of technical articles on electrical infrastructure, turbine and blade monitoring, battery storage technology, coatings and more.

Read the article online at: https://www.energyglobal.com/solar/18062024/equinor-starts-test-production-at-polish-solar-farm/