The Foundation for Sustainable Energy (FNEZ) has finished a series of consultation meetings between fishermen from Darłowo (15.05.2015), Łeba (28.05.2015), Ustka (29.05.2015) and the investor – Polenergia Bałtyk III. The meetings were part of the communication and public education campaign for the Offshore Wind Farm Bałtyk Środkowy III (OFW BSIII). The investment 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.

All the local fish producers groups, the ports authorities and the local authorities were invited to participate in the meetings. Meetings were attended by the investor – Polenergia Bałtyk III and experts from the National Marine Fisheries Research Institute, who were responsible for ichtiofauna monitoring and impact assessment of the investment on fish and fisheries. FNEZ was the organizer of the meetings and moderated the discussion.
The main purpose of the meeting was to present the OFW BSIII project and results of an over-a-year-long environmental monitoring programme. An important target of the meetings was to learn about the concerns and an expectations of fishermen. The concerns were mainly related to the impact of the investment on regional industry, possibility of navigating through the wind farm area and possibility of fishing within the wind farm area. The investor declared that:

•    the marine surveys and the environmental impact assessment indicated that the OFW BSIII will not cause significant negative impacts on fish at any stage of development (planning, construction, operation and decommissioning),
•    the final decision about the possibility of navigating and fishing within the wind farm area will be made by the Maritime Office in Słupsk, however the investor will not file a request to restrict the navigation nor will he request to prohibit fishing within the wind farm area as long as the gear used is not a risk to the subsea cables,
•    he is open to discuss compensation of loss caused by the wind farm, however such discussion can take place at a stage when all impacts and losses can be estimated in a manner acceptable by all parties.

Apart from the impact of the project on fishing industry the impact on the local industry was also discussed. Based on foreign experience and the discussions of the investor with potential suppliers it can be assumed that 50% to 100% of component could be produced in factories located in Poland, depending on the size of the polish offshore wind farms market. The larger the market the higher share of components could be produced in Poland. What is more, operation of the OFW BSIII will also require the O&M facilities based on the infrastructure of the Polish ports, which will positively affect the local fishermen and create new jobs.
Full record of the meeting is available at www.baltyk3.pl .