Poland aims to slash renewables costs by 40%

Nov 7, 2013 - The Polish government wants to lower its renewable energy costs by 40% by 2014 via auctions for fixed-price power purchase deals and subsidy reductions, Bloomberg said yesterday, citing the deputy economy minister.

The business news provider quoted Jerzy Pietrewicz as saying to lawmakers that Poland would hold auctions for the output of new renewable energy installations of up to 50 MW. The power purchase contracts will be for 15 years. Via such auctions, the country will be able to select the projects that offer the lowest production prices, Pietrewicz explained.

In addition, by cutting the number of green certificates granted to projects, the government will reduce the costs for renewable power generators that weighs on consumers. At present, green subsidies stand at about PLN 4 billion (USD 1.3bn/EUR 958m) annually, data from the Polish Economy Ministry shows. If Poland does not take measures the amount is expected to more than double by the end of the decade.

Hydropower plants of over 1 MW are planned to be excluded from the support scheme.

The government intends to publish its final draft renewables bill by the middle of November. The new regulations, which will be in force only for new projects, are expected to become valid from the beginning of 2014.

Under the requirements of the European Union (EU), Poland has to source 20% of its total power mix from renewables by 2020 as compared to 11.5% in 2012.

(PLN 1.0 = USD 0.324/EUR 0.240)

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