The communication and public education campaign for offshore wind farm Bałtyk Środkowy III (OWF BSIII), conducted by the Foundation for Sustainable Energy, has reached the end. The campaign was intended to start social dialog about impacts and benefits of erecting the first offshore wind farm in Poland. The investment, of which Polenergia Sp. z o.o. is the investor, will consist of max. 120 wind turbines located 23 km of the coast of Poland. Total capacity of the wind farm will be 1,2 GW. The commissioning is planned for 2022.
The communication and public education campaign for OWF BSIII involved following actions:
- an analysis of local conditions of 11 coastal municipalities as the basis of the merits for the development of tools and scope of the campaign, and identifying the key organizations, institutions and opinion leaders in the region,
- a knowledge and an art contest about offshore wind energy which was attended by over 300 pupils from 9 primary and secondary schools,
- launching a website www.baltyk3.pl, which is a source of comprehensive knowledge about investments,
- consultation meetings with representatives of local authorities,
- consultation meetings with representatives of fishermen,
- information campaign in the local and regional media, which included publication of information materials and interviews with experts about the project OWF BSIII.
The main aim of the campaign was to reach the widest possible range of stakeholders with information about the assumptions of the project, environmental studies and their results, potential impacts and benefits of the investment, as well as extend of knowledge about offshore wind energy. The direct meetings between investor and local authorities, fishermen and residents allowed to learn about the concerns and doubts regarding to the investment. The consultations also allowed to reach an agreement with fishing community and to include the offshore wind energy in the local development plan.
The conclusion of the communication and public education campaign for OWF BSIII is available HERE.