The solar industry in Poland — key facts and numbers

The solar industry in Poland has been experiencing significant growth in recent years. The country has been actively working to diversify its energy mix and reduce its dependence on coal, leading to an increased focus on renewable energy sources like solar power.

Recently, these topics were explored in an event that brought together leading experts, professionals, and innovators in the solar energy industry – Solarplaza Summit Poland took place in Warsaw on 9 May 2023. Guy Atherton, PVcase Ground Mount product manager, also participated in the event by taking part in the panel discussion “Scaling Large Scale PV Projects With the Right Technology Applications.”

Let’s explore the innovative approaches and technologies discussed at Solarplaza Summit Poland, paving the way for a greener and more sustainable future.

Poland has favorable conditions for solar energy generation, with a good amount of sunlight throughout the year. The government has introduced several measures to promote the development of the solar industry, including feed-in tariffs, net metering, and renewable energy auctions.

Furthermore, renewable energy auctions have driven Poland’s solar industry’s growth. These auctions allow developers to compete for contracts to sell electricity generated from renewable sources, including solar. They have helped attract investment and promote the development of large-scale solar projects.

The Polish government has also set ambitious renewable energy targets. The National Renewable Energy Action Plan aims for renewable sources to account for 21% of Poland’s energy consumption by 2020 and 32% by 2030. Solar power is expected to play a crucial role in achieving these targets.

Poland’s increasing solar market in numbers

According to the European Commissioner for Energy report published at the end of August 2022, over 20 GW of renewable energy was installed in Poland. 11 GW came from solar installations. It’s over 80% more than at the end of August 2021, when total solar capacity amounted to 6 GW.

Solar PV will cover around 10% of the country’s electricity in 2022, while it covered just about 1% three years ago. This rapid increase is primarily due to the popularity of home solar installations in the country and highly favorable financial conditions for their owners. Energy Market Agency reported that by the end of August 2022, Poland had 1,131,973 micro-installations under 50 kW. The country’s metering system allowed residents with systems of up to 10 kW to feed 1 kWh into the grid and receive 0.8 kWh for free. For larger installations above 10 kW, this ratio was 1 to 0.7. Moreover, residents did not have to pay the distribution fees for using the grid.

Such growth in micro installation introduced challenges for the distribution framework and caused nationwide policy changes. As a result, in April of 2022, the net-metering system was replaced by the net-billing system, which uses hourly settlement to calculate the energy injected and retrieved from the grid. This new scheme rewarded consumers for surplus energy fed into the grid at the wholesale price while they paid for the consumed energy just like regular consumers.

Solar energy also has high public support in national polls. A survey commissioned by the Polish Photovoltaic Association in 2022 revealed that more than half of the Poles want solar installations in their neighborhoods, while 2 out of 5 respondents think installing solar panels on all buildings is a good idea.

Key drivers and challenges of the Polish solar market

Below we identify key driving factors and challenges of the Polish solar market identified in the European Commissioner for Energy report.

Key drivers

– Favorable legal framework encouraging growth.
– Geopolitical context. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine caused an increase in energy prices and a lack of raw materials. Such circumstances also catalyzed the need for energy independence from Russian sources and self-sufficiency.
– The change from a net-metering scheme to a more advanced net-billing framework.
– The increased subsidies towards residential solar. From mid-December until the end of March 2023, the subsidies towards residential solar have been increased by 50%, while the rebates on battery installations have been more than doubled.

Key challenges

– Limited grid capacity to new power sources. Most of the grid is around 40 years old and requires modernization.
– Government-imposed electricity price cap. The Polish government has recently adopted an act limiting electricity prices that protect citizens from uncontrolled price raises. As a result, it limits the income of energy producers and companies. The cap in effect until the end of 2023 will likely negatively affect virtual power purchase agreements.

Summary

Despite the challenges mentioned above, Poland remains one of the fastest-growing solar markets in Europe and ranks third in the top 10 solar PV market additions list for 2023-2026. The solar industry in Poland is driven by government incentives, favorable solar conditions, and the country’s commitment to renewable energy. With ongoing efforts to promote solar power, Poland is expected to continue its expansion in the solar industry and contribute to its overall energy transition.