> Poland, heavily dependent on coal-fired electricity, is undergoing a rapid energy transition. The country is planning to build nuclear power plants, while renewable energy sources are being added at a rapid pace. And the installed capacity of photovoltaics is expected to double by 2025. At the same time, the Law and Justice (PiS) government is tackling the sensitive issue of the future of coal-fired power plants ahead of the autumn elections. It plans to buy them from four energy companies and transfer them to a state agency.
>
> Wind and photovoltaics are becoming increasingly valid sources of electricity in Poland. During the second weekend in July, almost half of all electricity in the country was generated from the sun at one point. Last month, according to the Jagiellonian Institute, solar panels accounted for seventeen percent of its production, with another eight percent coming from wind turbines. Two years ago, the total was eleven per cent.
>
> **Poland ranked third in the EU last year in terms of photovoltaic capacity added**
>
> Coal-fired generation, on the other hand, is declining relatively rapidly in Poland. While in June 2021 it accounted for 76 per cent of the mix, this year forty per cent was produced from lignite and 22 per cent from hard coal in the sixth month of the year. Meanwhile, Poland said late last year that the energy crisis had forced it to slow its move away from the fossil fuel source. But it does not want to deviate from its ultimate goal of closing all coal mines and power plants by 2049, a year before the EU intends to achieve carbon neutrality.
>
> The increase in production has been made possible by the rapid installation of photovoltaic sources. Poland added the most solar capacity in the European Union after Germany and Spain in 2022, at 4.9 gigawatts, twelve percent of all EU additions. The country’s PV industry experienced a boom in the first quarter of last year, triggered by an impending rule change that made it less attractive. However, the government then reacted to the energy impact of the war in Ukraine and once again favoured this source by increasing subsidies.
>
> Poland’s solar fever is thus expected to continue. The Institute for Renewable Energy (IEO) in Warsaw predicts that the installed capacity of photovoltaic panels will more than double to 26.8 gigawatts in the next two years. “The most remarkable changes and growth are expected in the segment of large farms and among commercial producers and consumers in one,” Agata Krzyżanowska, a representative of the institute, told pv-magazine.com.
>
> **Transmission system needs modernisation**
>
> Moreover, economists at the Polish Institute of Economics (PIE) report that the cost of generating electricity from renewable sources is falling dramatically. In the case of solar and wind power, they have fallen by 58-74 percent over the past decade, bringing them below the cost of coal and gas generation.
>
> However, the rapid expansion of renewables in Poland has its pitfalls. Along with it, the number of rejected grid connection applications is increasing, with thousands of rejections per year. Experts admit that the Polish transmission system is at the very edge of its capacity and massive investment will be needed in electricity distribution.
>
> “We need to invest around 500 billion zlotys (roughly 2.7 trillion crowns) in transmission and distribution networks by 2040,” Tomasz Sikorski, head of power system operator PSE, told Reuters, adding that the country needs to time its modernisation to develop in line with the growth of its renewable energy fleet.
>
> Further difficulties are posed by the unstable performance of renewable energy sources and the need to cover their shortfalls with backup sources and to deal with surpluses in times of high winds and high sunshine. The government is also urgently trying to address the future of coal-fired power stations and the associated mining sector ahead of the elections. Nearly seventy coal blocks and some mines are likely to come under the National Agency for Energy Security (NABE).
>
> **The government wants to allow investment in power companies**
>
> The four power plant operators PGE, Tauron, Energa and Enea received offers over the weekend for the state to buy equipment from them worth a total of around eighteen billion zlotys. However, the proposals vary widely from plant to plant, with the government offering only a token amount for the debt-laden and very old facilities.
>
> It is hoped that by divesting from coal assets, these companies will become more attractive to investors and will find it easier to finance renewable and nuclear sources. “Foreign investors have avoided these companies because of their carbon footprint. Now it’s time to get a more positive view of the sector and bring back investors,” Andrzej Lis of investment firm Rockbridge commented on the move, according to Bloomberg.
>
> “There is a political consensus to carry out the whole process before the elections,” a government source told Business Insider. However, according to Bloomberg, it is far from certain that everything will be done before the vote.
>
> In addition to renewables, Poland is betting on nuclear in the future. The first reactor is due to be commissioned in 2033, and the country is planning a total of six with a capacity of up to nine gigawatts. State and private companies in the country are also developing plans to build small modular reactors.
3 comments
> Poland, heavily dependent on coal-fired electricity, is undergoing a rapid energy transition. The country is planning to build nuclear power plants, while renewable energy sources are being added at a rapid pace. And the installed capacity of photovoltaics is expected to double by 2025. At the same time, the Law and Justice (PiS) government is tackling the sensitive issue of the future of coal-fired power plants ahead of the autumn elections. It plans to buy them from four energy companies and transfer them to a state agency.
>
> Wind and photovoltaics are becoming increasingly valid sources of electricity in Poland. During the second weekend in July, almost half of all electricity in the country was generated from the sun at one point. Last month, according to the Jagiellonian Institute, solar panels accounted for seventeen percent of its production, with another eight percent coming from wind turbines. Two years ago, the total was eleven per cent.
>
> **Poland ranked third in the EU last year in terms of photovoltaic capacity added**
>
> Coal-fired generation, on the other hand, is declining relatively rapidly in Poland. While in June 2021 it accounted for 76 per cent of the mix, this year forty per cent was produced from lignite and 22 per cent from hard coal in the sixth month of the year. Meanwhile, Poland said late last year that the energy crisis had forced it to slow its move away from the fossil fuel source. But it does not want to deviate from its ultimate goal of closing all coal mines and power plants by 2049, a year before the EU intends to achieve carbon neutrality.
>
> The increase in production has been made possible by the rapid installation of photovoltaic sources. Poland added the most solar capacity in the European Union after Germany and Spain in 2022, at 4.9 gigawatts, twelve percent of all EU additions. The country’s PV industry experienced a boom in the first quarter of last year, triggered by an impending rule change that made it less attractive. However, the government then reacted to the energy impact of the war in Ukraine and once again favoured this source by increasing subsidies.
>
> Poland’s solar fever is thus expected to continue. The Institute for Renewable Energy (IEO) in Warsaw predicts that the installed capacity of photovoltaic panels will more than double to 26.8 gigawatts in the next two years. “The most remarkable changes and growth are expected in the segment of large farms and among commercial producers and consumers in one,” Agata Krzyżanowska, a representative of the institute, told pv-magazine.com.
>
> **Transmission system needs modernisation**
>
> Moreover, economists at the Polish Institute of Economics (PIE) report that the cost of generating electricity from renewable sources is falling dramatically. In the case of solar and wind power, they have fallen by 58-74 percent over the past decade, bringing them below the cost of coal and gas generation.
>
> However, the rapid expansion of renewables in Poland has its pitfalls. Along with it, the number of rejected grid connection applications is increasing, with thousands of rejections per year. Experts admit that the Polish transmission system is at the very edge of its capacity and massive investment will be needed in electricity distribution.
>
> “We need to invest around 500 billion zlotys (roughly 2.7 trillion crowns) in transmission and distribution networks by 2040,” Tomasz Sikorski, head of power system operator PSE, told Reuters, adding that the country needs to time its modernisation to develop in line with the growth of its renewable energy fleet.
>
> Further difficulties are posed by the unstable performance of renewable energy sources and the need to cover their shortfalls with backup sources and to deal with surpluses in times of high winds and high sunshine. The government is also urgently trying to address the future of coal-fired power stations and the associated mining sector ahead of the elections. Nearly seventy coal blocks and some mines are likely to come under the National Agency for Energy Security (NABE).
>
> **The government wants to allow investment in power companies**
>
> The four power plant operators PGE, Tauron, Energa and Enea received offers over the weekend for the state to buy equipment from them worth a total of around eighteen billion zlotys. However, the proposals vary widely from plant to plant, with the government offering only a token amount for the debt-laden and very old facilities.
>
> It is hoped that by divesting from coal assets, these companies will become more attractive to investors and will find it easier to finance renewable and nuclear sources. “Foreign investors have avoided these companies because of their carbon footprint. Now it’s time to get a more positive view of the sector and bring back investors,” Andrzej Lis of investment firm Rockbridge commented on the move, according to Bloomberg.
>
> “There is a political consensus to carry out the whole process before the elections,” a government source told Business Insider. However, according to Bloomberg, it is far from certain that everything will be done before the vote.
>
> In addition to renewables, Poland is betting on nuclear in the future. The first reactor is due to be commissioned in 2033, and the country is planning a total of six with a capacity of up to nine gigawatts. State and private companies in the country are also developing plans to build small modular reactors.
The only thing missing is the sun
Butchered that title