The offshore wind farm project in Poland will pave the way for other transactions and trade involving LNG, nuclear power and critical minerals, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson says.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
A new US$6-billion offshore wind farm in Poland, backed by Canada’s Northland Power Inc., is expected to be just the beginning of a series of investments between the two countries, Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson said on Friday.
The development bolsters Poland’s energy security, which became a major problem after Russia invaded Ukraine, and paves the way for other transactions and trade involving liquefied natural gas, nuclear power and critical minerals, Mr. Hodgson said in an interview from Poland, where he met with Prime Minister Donald Tusk and other top officials.
Closer economic ties between Poland and Canada exemplify what Prime Minister Mark Carney has espoused about diversifying relationships and doubling non-U.S. trade, the minister said after leaving the wind farm site.
The 1.1 gigawatt Baltic Power project, owned by Toronto-based Northland and Plock, Poland-based ORLEN, generated its first electricity on Friday and is expected to begin commercial operations later this year.
Opinion: Canada is taking an outsized role in the construction of the post-American world
Northland has a 49-per-cent interest and operates the wind farm, located 23 kilometres off the Polish coast near Choczewo and Łeba. State-controlled ORLEN owns the remainder. The project currently has 54 of its 76 turbines installed. The rest are scheduled to be completed this year.
“It’s a Canadian company, creating a huge investment with one of our important trading partners and creating an ongoing relationship on this investment in this world-scale offshore wind farm,” Mr. Hodgson said.
Once operational, Baltic Power is expected to generate four terawatt-hours of electricity a year, which is enough to power more than 1.5 million Polish homes, Northland said in a release.
The project’s benefits go beyond generating power and increasing energy security, ORLEN chief executive officer Ireneusz Fąfara said in a statement. “We are building a domestic supply chain and developing capabilities that will remain in Poland long after construction of this wind farm is complete.”
It’s the country’s first offshore wind project and part of an earlier initiative. When the Russia-Ukraine war started in February, 2022, Poland had already begun a transition to natural gas and away from coal. However, like many European countries, it was reliant on Russian supplies.
And for national security reasons, Poland had to suddenly make changes, Mr. Hodgson said.
“The acceleration of the offshore wind is a big part of them retooling their grid and dramatically reducing their exposure to both coal and to Russian gas,” Mr. Hodgson said.
Northland’s offshore experience, with projects in Germany, Netherlands and Taiwan, will be key to the project’s ultimate success, he said, adding that know-how can be applied at home as well, as Nova Scotia pursues efforts to develop its own offshore wind industry.
Opinion: Canada should deepen its ties with Saudi Arabia
Canada and Poland have been holding bilateral talks about nuclear energy since January, 2025. That’s when the two countries signed a co-operation agreement to foster new company partnerships, explore opportunities for small modular reactors and hold discussions between their respective energy ministries about Poland’s second nuclear power plant.
Ottawa is promoting Candu nuclear technology, which is owned by Montreal-based AtkinsRéalis Group Inc. Poland has also invited the United States, France and South Korea to compete for the power plant commission. It expects to chose a partner and a site for the reactor over the next two years.
“Building nuclear is a generational commitment, so they are on track and they’ve been working with potential proponents, in particular AtkinsRéalis, around this opportunity, and we’re feeling very good about it,” Mr. Hodgson said.
Discussions with Mr. Tusk also covered Canada’s growing LNG supplies. ORLEN is developing its global energy trading business with offices in London and Singapore as Poland looks to diversify its sources of LNG, and that means opportunity for Canada with the industry expanding on the West Coast, he said.
Trading expertise allows for financial swaps of seaborne cargoes, eliminating the need for Canadian supplies to be shipped physically to Europe, where Poland is expanding its regassification capacity.
Poland is also interested in Canada’s critical minerals as it looks to develop supply alternatives, Mr. Hodgson said.