Revised Renewables Act paves way for 2.5 GW onshore wind auction in Poland

Poland’s lower house of Parliament approved an important revision to the Renewables Act last week in a significant development for onshore wind in the country.

The legislation includes plans for Poland to hold an auction in 2019 for 2.5 GW of new onshore wind capacity. The plans are due to be approved by the Polish Senate at the end of this month.

The legislation includes a number of other important changes, in particular extending deadlines for interconnection agreements which are key to the viability of projects bidding into the upcoming auction.

It also set rules strengthening the Guarantees of Origin (GOs) scheme. GOs are key to enable the growth of corporate renewable Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with wind farms, as corporates need assurances that they are sourcing clean electricity. In return, corporate renewable PPAs offer wind farms stable revenues.

Poland is facing rising electricity demand and aims to increase total power capacity from 40 GW to 73 GW by 2040.

WindEurope Chief Policy Officer Pierre Tardieu said: “It’s great news that Poland will have a 2.5 GW onshore wind auction this year. This builds on their last auction in November 2018 which showed that onshore wind is very competitive on price: it’s now cheaper than new coal and nuclear. The Polish Government clearly sees an important role for both onshore and offshore wind in meeting their rising energy demand. But the stringent set-back distance law on wind turbines will need fixing to allow for future growth beyond this year’s auction”.