Solar Projects Of 486-MW Allotted In Poland Auctions

The latest round of auctions of renewable energy by the Energy Regulatory Office in Poland has drawn a poor response. It allocated a mere 8.5 TWh of renewable energy capacity out of 34 TWh that was up for offer. The bright spot in the entire episode has been for the solar industry of Poland. The government allocated 486 MW of solar in the latest round and it accounted for 96 per cent of all 204 bids that won in the auctions.

Different categories of projects were for auction. For the solar power installations of less than 1-MW capacity individually, 150 MW worth awards were made. The reference price was kept at PLN 0.375/kWh. The lowest bid and the highest bid were PLN 0.24477/kWh and PLN 0.32773/kWh respectively.

582 MW was awarded for the renewable installations greater than 1-MW. Here the awards were split between solar and wind segments. Auction of this category amounted to about 57 per cent of the entire renewables’ capacity allocated. 70 bids were submitted by 51 solar power producers. The Polish regulator awarded 336 MW of solar and 245 MW of wind capacity.

The results show that solar energy’s reference price was PLN 0.355/kWh. The lowest bid offered was PLN 0.23677/kWh.

In the dismal show, only three rounds could see some success and the remaining four auctions could reach a final status as the bids were held insufficient. The travesty was that just one company joined the third auction that was related with hydroelectric power plants.

Rafał Gawin, President, Energy Regulatory Office, held that Russia-Ukraine conflict, the resulting energy crisis and PPA models were the key reasons that marred the auction round. Only a quarter of the capacity on offer was awarded.

Gawin held, “The instability and high uncertainty of market forecasts of energy prices, noticeable differences in reference prices in individual baskets, as well as the changing legal environment contribute to the decline in the attractiveness of [renewables] auctions … it seems that in the coming years we can expect less interest in [renewables] auctions in favor of long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) for the sale of electricity.”

The Polish government says that it expects the total installed capacity in renewable electricity generation units will amount to approximately 23-25 GW in 2030. According to GlobalData, a data and analytics firm, Poland will reach renewable energy capacity of 33.7 GW by the end of this decade and solar power will dominate with 14.5 GW additions. This is way above the present target of the country for 2030 for solar PV which is 7 GW.