The market of photovoltaic installations, both for individual and institutional customers has been recording significant upward trends for several years. Photovoltaic installaitons are becoming an ever more popular element on the roofs of detached houses, blocks of flats, production or warehouse facilities.
In 2020, the capacity of photovoltaics in Poland grew three times, reaching on 1st January 2021 the volume of 3 936 MW. As of 1st January 2020 the system included 1 299 MW of photovoltaic sources, which is up with regard to the capacity by 203% yoy. (Source: PSE).
A tremendous contribution into this growth was made by individual prosumers making use in 2020 of the governmental programme of subsidies to installations “My electricity”. Currently, a new program for individual customers is being proceeded.
In the official schedule of the National Fund For Environmental Protection and Water Management one can find information that the planned recruitment to the 3rd edition of “My electricity” will commence on 1st July 2021 and will last until 22nd December 2021. Support for housing communities and housing associations in the form of subsidies has also been announced. However, not all the details have been revealed – the works on acquiring external funds for financing the programme are being continued.
Most of the new capacities were installed in micro-installations. They constituted over 70% of the total newly-installed capacity in photovoltaics. Photovoltaic farms have been developing fast as well. In all the auctions conducted until recently the winning projects can boast the capacity of almost 1700 MW. In this year’s auction the volume for photovoltaics is foreseen to reach at least 1500 MW. Until now, about 370 MW have been put into operation in PV farms. Experts estimate that in the years 2021 and 2022 we will witness an investment boom in the PV farm sector, when projects from three auctions will be put into serviced (Source: Photovoltaics market in Poland 2020 – Institute of Renewable Energy).
It is assumed that in the years 2021 – 2022 about 2.8 GW of photovoltaic farms will be put into service. In the years 2022 and 2023 the share of PV farms in the total installed capacity will be equal to the share of micro-installations. The PV market will transform from the typically prosumer one, which is the case nowadays, to a sustainable between industrial PV power plants and prosumers. According to the forecast by Renewable Energy Institute, the PV capacity in 2023 will reach 6.6 GW. In 2025 the total installed capacity can reach 7.8 GW, which means that already in 2025 the PV capacity will exceed the assumed in the National Plan for the Energy and Climate for the years 2021-2030 (Source: Renewable Energy Institute).
The draft of Energy Policy for Poland by 2040 of 8th September 2020 foresees a significant increase of the capacity installed in photovoltaics from approx. 5-7 GW in 2030 to approx. 10-16 GW in 2040. A significant part of the potential in the scope of solar technologies will still remain with small roof-top installations. The number of prosumers in 2030 will increase to 1 million. The boom for photovoltaics foreseen in subsequent years will be supported by changes in the perception of widely understood ecology, both among physical persons and economic entities.
