Poland amends renewable energy law, boosting support for prosumers and flexibility

The Polish parliament has completed work on amendments to the Renewable Energy Sources Act. The amendments focus on supporting prosumers and flexibility.

The main aim of the amendments was to implement certain rules arising from European legislation, particularly the Renewable Energy Directive. As reported by CEEnergyNews, the law also focuses on supporting energy-intensive consumers, strengthens the state support system for small renewable energy generation installations, and includes provisions to speed up investment processes in the energy sector.

Support for prosumers

To increase the profitability of prosumers—entities that both consume and generate electricity—the amendments change the value of the prosumer deposit for each calendar month. The legislation introduces the option of monthly electricity price settlement and a new feature: prosumers can now choose to settle based on hourly market prices. Active prosumers will also receive a bonus that increases the refund of unused funds (a credit balance) from 20% to 30% of the prosumer deposit.

The amendments were discussed with a range of participants in the flexibility market. Thanks to the changes, generators and other participants active in this market are expected to be better able to make informed decisions about how to settle surplus electricity based on the energy generation and consumption profile of their installation or household, ultimately leading to greater savings on energy bills.

State support and guarantees of origin

The amendments also introduce new rules on the cancellation of guarantees of origin for renewable energy (so-called green and blue guarantees of origin). According to the Polish government, the aim of these mechanisms, newly regulated by law, is to increase the competitiveness of Polish industry, support locally produced products and ease inflationary pressures.

The amendments also include provisions to ensure compliance with EU state aid rules. This change allows continued support for small hydropower plants and biogas installations with an installed capacity of up to 1 megawatt through Feed-in Tariff and Feed-in Premium schemes.

The law now also includes new provisions to speed up the permitting process for certain renewable energy generation installations, building on the amendments adopted in September this year. These include photovoltaic systems installed on buildings, energy storage, heat pumps and related equipment located on the same premises.