Embassy Events 2003
U.S. Supports Poland's First Major Offshore Wind Energy Project
17 September 2003 |
|
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) awarded a $250,000
grant on September 12 to help study the feasibility for Poland's first
major offshore wind energy project. Morskie Elektrownie Wiatrowe, Ltd.
(MEW), a Polish company which develops such projects, will use the
money for a feasibility study on a 250-megawatt offshore venture.
The
grant was conferred in a signing ceremony at the U.S. Embassy in
Warsaw. Edgar Fulton, Commercial Counselor at the Embassy, signed the
grant agreement on behalf of the U.S. Government. Adam Smiarowski, Vice
President of MEW, represented the company.
Under the proposed
wind energy project, MEW plans to install 100 turbines in the Slupsk
Shoals area off the coast of Poland in the Baltic Sea. If implemented,
the project would be the first major offshore wind energy facility in
Poland.
The USTDA grant will be used to help fund a study
examining the available wind resources for the project and assess the
potential economic, technical and environmental aspects. The results of
the study will include a conceptual design of the wind farm and an
investment plan.
MEW will use the USTDA grant to contract with
AWS Scientific, Inc., of Albany, New York, to conduct the study. In
addition to the USTDA grant, MEW and AWS Scientific will contribute
additional resources toward the completion of the study.
The
USTDA grant represents a continuation of the agency's commitment to the
renewable energy sector in Central Europe. It follows a USTDA-sponsored
Waste-to-Energy and Renewable Energy Regional Conference last year
designed to help Poland and other countries in Central Europe develop
renewable energy sources.
The U.S. Trade and Development Agency
advances economic development and American commercial interests in
developing and middle-income countries. The agency funds various forms
of technical assistance, feasibility studies, training, orientation
visits and business workshops that encourage development of a modern
infrastructure and a fair and open trading environment. The USTDA
supports sound investment policy and decision-making in host countries
to foster trade, investment and sustainable economic development. In
carrying out its mission, the USTDA focuses on economic sectors that
may benefit from export of U.S. goods and services.
