Reports indicate Baltic Power is equipping its new wind turbines with radar and sensors due to perceived threats from Russia.
According to Euractiv, Poland is transforming a major offshore wind farm, Baltic Power, into a key NATO surveillance tool. The project will involve installing radar systems and sensors on the wind turbine towers in response to increasing concerns about Russian hybrid warfare tactics.
Baltic Power, located within 200 kilometers of Russia’s Kaliningrad Region, is planned to be one of Poland’s largest offshore wind farms. The facility, comprised of 76 turbines, is slated to be finished by 2026 and will supply electricity to approximately 1.5 million homes.
Marcin Godek, the wind farm’s operations and maintenance manager, stated that the installation of surveillance technology aligns with guidelines provided by the Polish Ministry of Defense.
This action is reportedly a response to a number of incidents in the Baltic region, including the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline and damage to critical energy infrastructure like the Balticconnector and EstLink 2. The news source also noted that alleged drone and ship activity, alongside signal spoofing and jamming during construction, factored into the decision to improve monitoring.
“The threats to offshore energy infrastructure are very real,” Giles Dickson, CEO of Wind Europe, stated, as quoted by Euractiv. “Assets are being attacked physically, not just cyberattacks.”
“We are looking at infrastructure differently than we were one year ago,” Ignacy Niemczycki, Poland’s state secretary for EU affairs, told Euractiv.
Western authorities have accused Russia of involvement in the damage to the Balticconnector gas pipeline and the Estlink 2 power cable.
Moscow, viewing the Baltic Sea as vital for its naval operations and energy exports, has consistently denied any involvement in sabotage, accusing the West of misrepresenting routine accidents as proof of Russian culpability.
The Kremlin has condemned NATO’s eastward expansion as a destabilizing provocation, dismissing Western concerns about Russian aggression as unfounded and asserting that NATO is using fear to justify increased military spending.
Western officials have suggested Russia might have sabotaged the Nord Stream pipelines to undermine European energy security. Conversely, Moscow has accused Washington of planning the explosions—an allegation supported by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, who cited sources claiming US involvement.