energy | In Principle

In Europe and worldwide, the battery market is undergoing revolutionary changes. The World Economic Forum predicts that global demand for batteries will be 14 times greater in 2030 than it is today. This means that the number of plants producing them must increase significantly. In 2030, the European Union could account for 17% of the global market demand for batteries. Among other things, this is influenced by the growth of the digital economy, low-carbon mobility, and renewable energy. The number of problems related to battery production and unregulated issues has inspired the European Commission to make decisive changes in European law, the effects of which will be felt not only by the battery industry but also directly by consumers.

Over the last few months, the natural gas market in Poland and Europe has been affected by historic price fluctuations, and the situation in Ukraine demands attention to the continuity of gas supplies from abroad. In the context of ensuring security of gas supply to end-users, we point to the potential for introduction of restrictions on natural gas consumption.

In recent months, the wind power sector has observed the progress of work on a bill to amend the Wind Energy Investment Act and certain other laws. It is much-awaited by the industry, due to the stringent “10H rule” still in force. The bill is expected to be sent to the Polish parliament in the first quarter of 2022, but the first draft by the Ministry of Development and Technology has already been released.

On 7 December 2021, the Polish government officially announced its Polish Hydrogen Strategy for 2030 with a view to 2040. The announcement came at a perfect time, amid price turbulence on the natural gas market in Europe and growing doubts whether natural gas (of which Europe has too little) is still a reasonable transition fuel for decarbonisation of the economy.

On 1 December 2021, the Minister of Infrastructure published a long-awaited regulation on evaluation of applications for licences to erect artificial islands (offshore location licences). Investors who obtain permits will be able to participate in future auctions for offshore wind farms.

The latest amendment to the Capacity Market Act (which came into force on 1 September 2021) finally introduces a preferential method of calculating the capacity fee, long awaited by companies. However, the rules for calculation of the fee are based on completely different assumptions than the relief initially expected.

On 25 June 2021, the president of Poland’s Energy Regulatory Office announced the results of the May/June 2021 auctions for sale of renewable energy. Unlike in previous years, the results of all auctions announced in 2021 were released on one day.

The long-awaited rules for construction of wind farms have been announced. On 4 May 2021, a bill to amend the Act on Wind Power Plant Projects (aka the “Distance Act” or “10H Act”) was published on the Government Legislation Centre website. Its adoption may once again stimulate the growth of wind power, which not long ago was the most dynamic branch of renewable energy sources in Poland.

On 11 February 2021, the Regulation of the Minister of Infrastructure of 12 January 2021 on Air Traffic Obstacles, Obstacle Limitation Surfaces and Dangerous Devices came into force. In the method of notification and marking of air traffic obstacles, it replaced the regulation of 25 June 2003. Will wind turbines still need to be marked under the new regulation? If so, who should mark them and how? And, just as importantly, does existing marking need to be brought into compliance with the current regulations, and if so, when?

The rising costs of electricity and CO2 emission allowances are prompting an increasing number of businesses to consider investing in their own generation sources, including renewable energy sources. However, such an investment involves not only the purchase of appropriate equipment and finding a contractor. It also requires meeting a number of regulatory obligations and ensuring that the operations of the source are supported after it is placed in service.

Poland’s state-funded My Electricity programme, which provides subsidies for home photovoltaic installations, contributed to the installation of over 220,000 home PV installations in two years. The installation of new PV capacity in Poland has accelerated rapidly, reaching 4.1 GW in March 2021 (up from 557 MW at the end of 2018). A similar increase may soon apply to electric car charging installations, as according to announcements by the Ministry of Climate and Environment, from July 2021 owners of individual chargers will also be able to obtain funding from the programme.

On 16 February 2021 the Polish Ministry of Climate and Environment released for public consultations a draft of the regulation on the maximum price for electricity generated at an offshore wind farm and introduction into the grid, in PLN per MWh, which is the basis for calculating the right to coverage of a negative balance. This amount is set at PLN 301.50/MWh (about EUR 67/MWh). This means that this will be the maximum amount of support from the Polish state for wind farms built in the Polish area of the Baltic Sea, which will be allocated within the next four months.