A planned pumped-storage power plant in Chojnowo in the Tolkmicko municipality (Elbląg County, Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship), with the Vistula Lagoon as the lower reservoir and an artificial upper reservoir on the Elbląg Upland. The investor is Neo Energy Group – the largest Polish private renewables developer – carrying out the project through its subsidiary ESP Tolkmicko sp. z o.o.; it would be Poland's first pumped-storage plant developed by a private entity. The project was included in the report of a government expert team published at the end of July 2022, alongside Młoty (PGE) and Rożnów II (Tauron), with parameters of 1,040 MW and 12,000 MWh and commissioning in 2029. The investor itself prepared three variants differing in the area of the upper reservoir (144, 417 and 675 ha) and regards the smallest as the most realistic, giving approx. 750-850 MW and up to approx. 7,000 MWh; in June 2026 the project was presented publicly in the 850 MW variant with a reservoir of approx. 144 ha. The investor preliminarily estimated the value of the investment at approx. PLN 6.5 billion, noting that it exceeds its own financial capacity. The Orlen Group, previously named as the investor in a government document and by local officials, announced in October 2025 that it no longer conducts analyses regarding this project. As of June 2026 the undertaking is at the conceptual stage: a substantial part of the land has been secured through purchase and geotechnical drilling is under way, but no environmental decisions have been issued and the construction schedule is not set.
How it went
We have assessed this project, but none of the four axes is shown here: 3 carry no assessment yet, one has an assessment with no confirmed quote. The timeline and sources below show what is known about it. How to read this section
Timeline
- AnnouncedJul 2022
- Original date2029
Change history
- Jul 2022stage: announced
Significance
The project is one of three undertakings identified in the 2022 government expert-team report as directions for developing pumped storage in the national power system, alongside Młoty and Rożnów II. It is meant to respond to the growth of Baltic offshore wind and rising demand for energy storage and, locally, to stimulate the economy of Elbląg County, the port of Tolkmicko and the revitalisation of the railway line along the Vistula Lagoon. The investment area is to cover approx. 7.25 km², i.e. approx. 3.2% of the municipality's area, with approx. 25 million m³ of earthworks. Risks: no investor able to carry the cost (Orlen withdrew in 2025 and the developer openly speaks of a possible sale of the project), no environmental decisions and no fixed schedule, as well as concerns among some residents of Chojnowo about resettlement and the impact on the Vistula Lagoon ecosystem – the investor states that the baseline variant does not involve resettling the village and would require the removal of three farms whose owners are willing to sell their properties.
Sources 5 · 4 independent · 4 archived
Every fact on this card comes from the sources below. Next to each source – which fields it supports.
Independence is counted the same way the gate that admits a record counts it: subdomains and titles from one publisher are a single voice, Wikipedia is zero. That is why the number is lower than the number of links. Three is the minimum.
- WysokieNapiecie.pl25 Feb 2023CostAnnouncedOriginal dateInvestor
CostWstępnie oszacowaliśmy wartość inwestycji na ok. 6,5 mld zł, więc jest ona oczywiście poza naszymi możliwościami finansowymi.
AnnouncedZgodnie z opublikowanym pod koniec lipca 2022 r. raportem Rola elektrowni szczytowo-pompowych w Krajowym Systemie Elektroenergetycznym: uwarunkowania i kierunki rozwoju w ciągu najbliższej dekady ma ich powstać trzy.
Original dateWedług rządowego dokumentu ESP Tolkmicko miałaby zostać oddana do użytku w 2029 r.
InvestorESP Tolkmicko jest projektem należącym do Neo Energy Group. Projekt jest rozwijany od 2021 r. przez naszą spółkę zależną pod taką samą nazwą – ESP Tolkmicko Sp. z o.o.
- portEl.pl3 Nov 2025
- SmartGmina23 Jun 2026StatusStage
StatusNa tym etapie jest zbyt wcześnie, by planować dokładny harmonogram realizacji całej inwestycji. Aktualnie jest ona na etapie koncepcyjnym, dlatego szczegółowy termin zakończenia fazy projektowej, wnioskowania o pozwolenie na budowę, wyboru wykonawców czy daty rozpoczęcia i zakończenia budowy, nie jest jeszcze ustalony.
StageJednocześnie inwestor zaznacza, że nie zostały jeszcze wydane decyzje środowiskowe i trwają odwierty, po których ma powstać opinia geotechniczna.
- Miasto i Gmina Tolkmicko19 Dec 2024
- [5]Budowa elektrowni w Tolkmicku. Projekt nie wiąże się z wysiedleniami. Wracamy do tematu ↗archived ✓portEl.pl12 Dec 2024