*2.3. WE in the Pomerania Voivodeship*

As shown in Figure 1, at a height of 140 m the Pomerania Voivodeship has exceptionally excellent WE conditions. The Voivodeship is particularly well-suited to the growth of WE, both on land and at sea. Offshore WE might serve as a propeller for regional businesses, such as shipyards, which already supply components for the offshore industry [55].

**Figure 1.** WS at a height of 140 m in Pomerania Voivodeship (created based on [55]).

WE capacity in Pomerania Voivodeship is 786 MW [56]. Taking into consideration the available area of the Polish exclusive economic zone (which is expected to grow to 2000 km<sup>2</sup> by 2030), wind conditions, productivity, and installed power density (6 MW/km2), the theoretical potential is estimated to be 12 GW, with an approximate energy generation of 48–56 TWh, according to the draft program for the development of offshore wind energy and maritime industry.

The first wind farm in the Pomerania Voivodeship, with a capacity of 150 kW, was established in 1991 in Lisewo near Gniewino. In the same year, a 90 kW power plant was built in Swarzewo near Puck (currently closed). Since 2005, following Poland joining the EU when some legal barriers were removed, the number of investments in WE have started to increase [57].

The Energy Regulatory Office issued a license for the largest wind farm in Poland, which is located in the Pomerania and West-Pomerania voivodeships. The investment was carried out by the Pot ˛egowo company belonging to the Israeli Mashav fund. Its power is 219 MW. The Pot ˛egowo wind farm is located in the Słupsk and Sławno districts. It consists of 81 General Electric turbines with a capacity of 2.5 MW and 2.75 MW. For its construction, the investor received a loan from the European Bank in the amount of PLN 209 million. The total cost of the investment was PLN 1.25 billion. The farm also won an auction to supply electricity [51,58].

The Airport Wind Farm, which has a capacity of 90 MW, was officially inaugurated in the Voivodeship in 2015. PGE Energia Odnawialna S.A., a subsidiary of the PGE Capital Group, is the company that owns and operates the power plant. The Airport Wind Farm is the largest renewable energy investment made by the PGE Group since May 2014 [58].

The area available for the construction of wind farms in the Pomerania Voivodeship, including the buffer zone 2150 m from residential buildings, is 2716 km<sup>2</sup> (Figure 2).

**Figure 2.** Buildings with a buffer of 2150 m (own elaboration).

The area available for the construction of wind farms in the Pomerania Voivodeship, including the buffer zone 2150 m from protected areas such as national parks, landscape parks, and nature reserves, is 2552 km<sup>2</sup> (Figure 3). The available area for wind farm construction in the Pomerania Voivodeship, including the buffer zone 200 m from forests (a condition regarding protecting bats), is 9568 km<sup>2</sup> (Figure 4).

**Figure 3.** Protected areas with a buffer of 2150 m (own elaboration).

**Figure 4.** Forests with 200 m buffer (own elaboration).

The area available for the construction of wind farms in the Pomerania Voivodeship, including the hydrographic network and the 90 m buffer zone (propeller length 75 m increased by an additional 15 m) from the surface waters, is 3106 km<sup>2</sup> (Figure 5). The available area for the construction of wind farms in the Pomerania Voivodeship, including the infrastructure network and the 90 m buffer zone (propeller length 75 m increased by an additional 15 m), is 15,820 km<sup>2</sup> (Figure 6). Even after taking into consideration all the restricting factors, the accessible land area amounts to only 60 km<sup>2</sup> or less than 0.3 percent of the total land area of the Pomerania Voivodeship (Figure 7).

**Figure 5.** Water surfaces with 90 m buffer (own elaboration).

**Figure 6.** Infrastructure with a 90 m buffer (own elaboration).

**Figure 7.** Available area for constructing wind turbines in the Pomerania Voivodeship (own elaboration).
