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(Bloomberg) — Poland’s power grid received electricity from its first Baltic Sea offshore wind farm as the country accelerates its shift away from coal.

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Baltic Power, a joint venture between Poland’s Orlen SA and Canada’s Northland Power Inc., began transmitting electricity from a portion of its 76 turbines on Friday, grid operator PSE SA said.

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The 1.14 gigawatt facility, able to power about 1.5 million Polish households once its fully operational, is the first of several projects totaling more than 4 gigawatt slated to come online over the next two to three years.

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The Orlen and Northland investment embodies a broader geographic transformation in Poland’s energy landscape. The center of electricity generation is shifting to the country’s northern coast from the industrialized south, specifically the coal-rich Upper Silesia region.

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Poland is adding offshore and onshore wind, photovoltaic farms, battery storage as well as gas-fired units to replace aging coal-fired plants. Those legacy facilities still supply more than 50% of its electricity, the highest share in the European Union. In 2036, the nation also plans to launch its first nuclear power plant in the north of the country.

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The offshore buildup is expected to continue into the next decade, with the government awarding subsidies for another 3.4 gigawatts of capacity in last year’s auction. 

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However, the transition is facing scrutiny over rising expenses. Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski and the state grid operator have both voiced concern about the final electricity costs for Polish industry as offshore wind farm construction expenses mount.

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