Danske Commodities enters Poland’s renewables market with first PV deal

Danske Commodities signed a balancing agreement with one of the biggest photovoltaic plants in Poland. Wento, also a subsidiary of Norway’s Equinor, has just completed the Stępień solar park, with 57.5 MW in capacity.

Energy trading company Danske Commodities has signed a balancing agreement for the Stępień photovoltaic plant in Poland. The deal marks its entry into the country’s renewables market.

The Danish company will provide market access and balancing for the facility developed and operated by Wento. Both are owned by Norway-based Equinor. Stępień has a capacity of 57.5 MW, making it one of the biggest solar power plants in Poland.

Support for Equinor’s projects in region

“With more than 10 years of experience trading power in the Polish market, we will use our trading expertise to support energy producers with balancing and route-to-market services,” said Danske’s Vice President and global trading and market development chief Jesper Tronborg.

The trading firm said it would support Equinor’s strategic ambitions for onshore renewables in the region. The Nordic energy giant bought Wento last year.

Two more solar parks under construction

The subsidiary has two more solar parks under construction in Poland, where it is developing projects with a combined capacity of 1.6 GW. Equinor said the two units, with more than 110 MW in total, would be ready by 2024.

Stępień is located near the Baltic shore and the border with Lithuania. It spans 65 hectares and has over 100,000 solar panels. Annual output is estimated at 61 GWh, which is equivalent to the electricity consumption of 31,000 Polish households. Equinor revealed plans to bring the electricity from the solar plant to the market through a power purchase agreement (PPA).

Danske Commodities said it has a contract portfolio of more than 7 GW in renewables in Europe. It trades power, gas and certificates and offers hedging, optimization and balancing services in 37 European markets, according to its website.