The increase in the number of prosumers has slowed down. In April 2022, PGE connected over 98 percent fewer photovoltaic installations to the grid than a month earlier. – The data is very surprising, but it was indeed so, and this is due to the fact that on April 1 new rules for the settlement of prosumers with the energy seller were introduced – says Zuzanna Sasiak from the Association of Polish Green Network Associations. Material from the “Poland and the World” program, prepared by Katarzyna Rosiewicz.
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It happened as the experts of the energy market had warned about it. After a revolution in the method of accounting for ecologically produced energy, photovoltaics in Poland is going through a crisis. – Stock prices of companies dealing with photovoltaics are experiencing a collapse because the market reacted in this way to the new government regulations. The goal was obvious, that is, to slow down the development of solar energy in our country and perhaps to make room for those players who slept through this solar revolution, says Marek Józefiak from Greenpeace Polska.
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Photovoltaic 2022 – changes
In April this year. PGE connected 648 photovoltaic installations to the network, which is over 98% month-to-month decline.
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– This data is very surprising, but it was indeed so, and this is due to the fact that on April 1, new rules for the settlement of prosumers with the energy seller were introduced, which are less favorable than the previous rules – emphasizes Zuzanna Sasiak from the Polish Green Network Association. A prosumer is a person who is both a producer and a consumer. It produces energy with its own installation.
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– The previous rule was that the prosumer could store his surplus energy in the grid and then collect it when needed. However, according to the new regulations, the prosumer will first sell this energy to the grid, and then he will have to buy it back, and unfortunately the price at which he will buy back will be higher – explains Sasiak.
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This means that, under the new rules, the surplus energy accumulated in the summer months is sold cheaper and collected more expensive in the winter months. – Photovoltaic panels pay off a little less due to the need to adapt Polish law to the EU, but paradoxically they will pay off more and more due to the fact that we have an energy crisis – says Wojciech Jakóbik, editor-in-chief of Biznesalert.pl.
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The Ministry of Climate and Environment in the reply sent to TVN24 indicated that in force from April this year the new system is cost-effective and equitable and “will ensure the continued, stable development of community energy”. “The introduced system, which is compliant with the EU law, will improve the safety of power grids operation” – emphasized the ministry.
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RES in Poland
– In 2015-2022, the largest Polish energy company, i.e. PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna, spent only 3.5 percent of its capital expenditure on renewable energy sources. This shows how little attention has been paid to these technologies of the future – assessed Marek Józefiak. The representative of Greenpeace Polska pointed out that this week renewable energy sources produced almost a quarter of electricity in our country in one day.
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Large investments in renewable energy were loudly announced by the government. – We focus on new sources, such as offshore wind energy, photovoltaics, such as nuclear energy – Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in the past. The Minister of Climate and Environment Anna Moskwa also talked about increasing the share of renewable energy in offshore and onshore wind energy.
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These are announcements, and in fact the government is fighting windmills. – The most to be done in onshore wind energy, which could develop immediately, if not for various legal blockades that are still in place – claims Wojciech Jakóbik.
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– We are investing in large wind farms in the Baltic Sea, but at the same time we are blocking the development of more dispersed units, which could be built for private, grass-roots or collected money – echoes Jakub Wiech, deputy editor-in-chief of Energetyka24.
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In recent years, Poles have enjoyed the greatest interest in photovoltaic installations and heat pumps. – 2020 was a year when we reached a milestone, i.e. it was the first time in Poland that more heat pumps were sold than coal-fired boilers. It is a symbol of how fast these changes are going, if only favorable regulations are created – notes Marek Józefiak.
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Although the energy awareness of Poles is growing, unfortunately, the share in the renewable energy market is about 16 percent. Coal is still the main energy resource used in Poland.
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photo-source">Main photo source: Shutterstock
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