Polish govt seeks to facilitate roll-out of pumped-storage plants

The Polish government adopted on Tuesday a draft law intended to increase investment in the development of pumped-storage power plants in order to speed up their integration in the country's energy system and strengthen its reliability.

The bill prepared by the Ministry of Climate and Environment provides for granting such projects the status of public purpose investments to ensure their faster implementation. It will remove some legal barriers and will create regulations that foster interest in their construction.

Having electricity storage facilities is gaining importance for the energy transformation based on renewable energy sources, the ministry said. With the increase in the share of wind and photovoltaic generation such installations will ensure security of electricity supply and quick delivery of power to the energy system.

According to the ministry's estimates, six pumped-storage power plants could be built in Poland. One of the first may be the project in Mloty, in the southwestern Dolnoslaskie province, which was started in the last century. Recently, Polish utility PGE (WSE:PGE) and the national eco-fund have partnered for the construction of the 750-MW facility.

The bill will be sent for approval to parliament and come into effect 14 days after its publication.

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