Poland doubles renewable energy from micro-installations in 2022

March 21 (Renewables Now) - Poland's Energy Regulatory Office (URE) reported on Monday that micro-installations have doubled the supply of electricity to the grid to 5.77 TWh in 2022 from 2.76 TWh in the previous year.

At the end of 2022, over 1.2 million micro-installations of up to 50 kW were connected to the power grid, with a total installed capacity of over 9.3 GW, of which 99% were photovoltaic (PV) systems. This is a ninefold increase since 2019 when the installed capacity was some 1 GW, URE added.

Prosumers – individuals who both produce and consume energy – account for 96% of the total capacity of micro-installations. Poles' awareness of climate change and willingness to lower their energy bills has translated into an increased interest in producing energy from their own, ecological sources, URE explained.

"However, the introduction of such a capacity of micro-installations into the power system requires an urgent adaptation of the network infrastructure," URE's CEO, Rafal Gawin, noted.

Micro and small installations operation is facilitated in Poland by fewer formalities, such as easier connection to the grid and the absence of a requirement to obtain a licence. They benefit from special support mechanisms when selling energy -- there is an entity obliged to buy energy from such a producer.