Norwegian energy company Equinor has announced the commencement of test production at its 60MW Zagórzyca solar plant in Poland.
Located in the Damnica municipality in the north of the country, the Polish solar plant is expected to generate 61GWh of clean energy per year which is equal to the electricity consumption of 31,000 Polish households.
The Zagórzyca solar plant is projected to be in operation for 30 years.
According to Equinor, the launch of its second Polish solar facility is a move towards creating a robust renewable portfolio in the country.
Equinor Poland country manager Michał Jerzy Kołodziejczyk said: “Equinor aims to be a reliable energy partner for Poland and support its energy transition. We are building a broad energy offering in the country, including onshore and offshore renewables, and gas supplies through the Baltic Pipe.”
The Zagórzyca plant was developed by Equinor’s fully-owned subsidiary Wento. The latter will also operate the solar plant.
In May 2021, Equinor completed the acquisition of Wento and its 1.6GW pipeline of solar projects in a deal worth €91m with private equity firm Enterprise Investors.
The Zagórzyca solar power project is spread across an area of nearly 55ha and involves 111,000 solar panels. Its construction involved the participation of nearly 500 workers.
Equinor said that its fully-owned energy trading house Danske Commodities will be in charge for marketing and bringing the clean energy from the solar plant to the Polish electricity market.
In October 2022, the Norwegian energy company announced the completion of the construction of its first Polish solar plant, Stępień, which has a capacity of 58MW.
Equinor renewables onshore and markets senior vice president Olav Kolbeinstveit said: “Today we inaugurate our second solar plant Zagórzyca, doubling our solar capacity in Poland to around 120 MW. Our first solar plant Stępień is already in commercial production, and another one, Lipno will be commissioned in 2024.
“We are also maturing other opportunities within onshore renewables and battery storage in Poland, in line with our market-driven power producer strategy.”
