EDP Renewables (EDPR), the clean power arm of Portuguese utility Energias de Portugal, plans to begin commercial operations at a new 45MW solar project in Poland, which will benefit from existing renewable grid infrastructure.
The Konary project, which is located in central-west Poland, will connect to the local power grid through the same receiving station as the 97.5MW Pawlowo wind farm, which is also owned by EDPR. The Pawlowo project has been in operation since 2015, and EDPR is optimistic that the existence of other renewable power infrastructure in the area will remove obstacles to connecting power from the Konary project to the grid.
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“The Konary photovoltaic farm is further confirmation of EDPR’s innovation and pioneering role in the Polish renewables market,” said Bartosz Fedurek, CEO of EDPR Poland, EDPR’s local subsidiary.
“In Konary, we show that the idea of sharing the grid by complementary renewable technologies, which we have successfully implemented in Portugal and Spain, can also unlock the potential of connecting additional gigawatts of green energy in Poland.”
EDPR expects the hybrid solar project to be in operation for 25 years and is the fourth-largest PV farm in Poland by capacity. The news comes as Poland looks to shift its energy mix in the coming years, with the latest draft of its National Energy and Climate Plan, submitted to the EU in 2019, aiming to meet between 21-23% of Poland’s power needs with renewable energy by 2030.
The government expects a small portion of the country’s energy mix to be derived from solar power, with the government aiming for biogas, onshore wind and offshore wind to contribute more to the country’s total energy consumption than solar in 2030 and 2035. However, new renewable investments will be of benefit for a country that is still reliant on fossil fuels, with the Polish government expecting 28% of the country’s energy to come from lignite and hard coal as late as 2040.
The news is the latest positive development for the Polish solar sector, following PAD RES’ securing of US$58.7 million in financing for 117MW of new solar capacity in Poland.