Poland’s solar capacity with grid connection approvals reaches 18GW as of Q3 2023

Since December 2022, a total of 6.6GW of grid-connection permits have been issued for solar PV projects, among which 1.2GW have received construction permits. A total of more than 2.5GW of building permits were issued for PV projects between December 2022 and November 2023.

Although Poland is increasing its solar capacity, some developers’ projects were unsuccessful in their applications. Polish power company Enea did not issue grid connection permits to 380 projects with a total combined capacity of 6.28GW in Q2 and Q3. Another Polish energy company, Energa, also refused to issue connection permits, to 109 projects with a capacity of 312MW.

Currently, of the 18GW of solar capacity in Poland, about 6.9GW are from projects with a capacity of over 50MW. The country also boasts almost half of its capacity from projects with a capacity of lower than 10MW.

Multiple projects have been signed or developed lately in Poland. Nexun, a portfolio company of infrastructure investor Marguerite, signed a co-development agreement with an unnamed Polish developer for 206MW of solar PV. Under the cooperation agreement signed in Poland, Nexun targets to apply for grid connectivity of 52MW in September 2023 and a further 60MW during Q4 2023.

Polish renewables developer PAD RES secured PLN240 million (US$58.7 million) in financing for the construction of 117MW PV plants in Poland in August.

Previously, PV Tech Premium examined Europe’s emerging solar markets, namely Poland, Romania, Greece, Czechia and Bulgaria. Poland’s key policy driver for the growth of solar PV and renewables altogether comes from ‘Energy Policy of Poland until 2040’.

According to Artur Marchewka, managing director at BayWa r.e. Polska, the share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption should be at least 23% and no less than 32% in electricity in 2030 – mainly wind and PV.

Moreover, PV Tech Premium also published two articles to discuss Poland’s rise towards becoming the third largest solar PV market in Europe in terms of installations in 2022. In the first part, SolarPower Europe said the significant increase in energy prices and lack of raw materials across the globe due to the war in Ukraine had helped boost solar in Poland by driving local governments and businesses towards prioritising energy security with renewables.

The second part of the article covered both the rooftop and large-scale PV segments in more detail, with the shift from net-metering to net-billing and the stagnancy over pricing in large-scale auctions.