Poland\u2019s energy transition has accelerated, but it still faces a number of challenges. One of the biggest is the lengthy permitting process for renewable energy projects. The industry hopes that the recent amendment to the Energy Law will help simplify grid-connection procedures for renewable energy sources and unlock stalled investments. In the view of representatives of the renewables sector, onshore wind currently needs the strongest policy support.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking back, we believe the energy transition has clearly accelerated,\u201d Tomasz Guzowski, President of OX2 Polska, told Newseria during the 43rd EuroPOWER & OZE POWER energy conference.<\/p>\n
As the Ministry of Climate and Environment reported in February, the share of renewables in Poland\u2019s electricity generation exceeded 30% for the first time in history last year, reaching 31.41%. In 2020, that figure was still below 18%. This means that renewable energy sources generated nearly 55,000 GWh of electricity. By the end of 2025, renewables also accounted for more than 50% of installed capacity in the country. Total renewable capacity reached 37,777 MW, more than tripling compared with 2020. The fastest growth was recorded by solar power, which expanded to 24,808 MW, and wind power, which reached roughly 10,550 MW.<\/p>\n
Eurostat data show that the share of renewable energy in Poland\u2019s total electricity consumption stood at 30.37% in 2024, while the share in gross final energy consumption reached 17.7%. These results still remain below the EU average, which came to 47.5% and 25.2% respectively, leaving Poland well behind Europe\u2019s leading countries in the energy transition.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can safely be said that the transition is progressing, but with certain disruptions. There is still a clear need to speed up some processes if we are to achieve the targets set out, for example, in the proposals included in the National Energy and Climate Plan,\u201d Tomasz Guzowski explained.<\/p>\n
According to Poland\u2019s updated draft National Energy and Climate Plan, the share of renewables in electricity generation is expected to reach 51.6% by 2030 under the WEM balanced-transition scenario and 53.2% under the WAM accelerated-transition scenario. By 2040, the shares are projected to rise to 65% and 68% respectively. The goal is also to increase the share of renewables in gross final energy consumption by 2030 to 30% in the WEM scenario and 32% in the WAM scenario.<\/p>\n
\u201cInvestments in renewable energy are increasingly seen as a benefit rather than a cost that simply has to be borne. This is an investment in our security, especially at a time of geopolitical turbulence such as the one we are witnessing today. Every megawatt installed in Polish, local energy sources is worth its weight in gold,\u201d the head of OX2 Polska stressed.<\/p>\n
According to the Ministry of Climate and Environment, the Polish economy remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels, while the cost of importing energy commodities in 2024 amounted to around PLN 112 billion. Overall import dependency rose to 45%.<\/p>\n
At the same time, the ministry cites analyses by the Polish Economic Institute suggesting that keeping a coal-based power system in place until 2040 could be as much as 40% more expensive than a system based to a greater extent on renewables. The reasons include not only rising CO2 emission costs and fossil fuel prices on world markets, but also the need to modernize domestic coal-fired power plants and declining coal production in Poland, which must increasingly be supplemented with costly imports.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we talk about barriers to the development of renewables in Poland, I would focus on streamlining processes and allowing several permits to be handled simultaneously. This is certainly achievable and is already being discussed in the draft amendments related to the implementation of the RED III directive into Polish law,\u201d Tomasz Guzowski said.<\/p>\n
Under the EU\u2019s RED III directive, the share of renewable energy in gross final energy consumption across the European Union is supposed to reach at least 42.5% by 2030, with an ambition to reach 45%. One of the directive\u2019s main purposes is to accelerate administrative and permitting procedures for wind and solar investments.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe absolutely need this acceleration. Developing onshore wind projects also requires a great deal of time to obtain a building permit, typically seven to eight years. There is also the issue of securing land rights for the areas where such projects are to be developed. Another matter concerns spatial development plans and general local plans introduced under the amended regulations. Then there is the environmental decision and obtaining grid-connection conditions,\u201d the expert listed. \u201cThere is also the issue of legal changes aimed at improving the process, increasing transparency and, above all, cleaning up so-called zombie projects.\u201d<\/p>\n
On 2 April this year, the President signed the amendment to the Energy Law, known as UC84, as part of the anti-blackout package and the broader deregulation agenda. The legislation is intended, among other things, to unlock grid-connection capacity by eliminating projects that block the market without being implemented. It is also meant to reduce formalities in the connection process and shorten procedures.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of this whole process is the building permit. Given the realities on the ground, and for example the need to obtain an environmental decision, the time required for onshore wind projects can still mean waiting many months for that type of approval. Any solutions that speed up this process are desirable,\u201d said the President of OX2 Polska. \u201cOnshore wind power clearly needs much stronger support. For many years, the development of new projects was blocked by the so-called distance act.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 2016 distance act introduced the so-called 10H rule, under which wind turbines could only be built at a distance from residential buildings and protected natural areas equal to at least ten times the turbine\u2019s total height. After amendments to the law, that minimum distance now stands at 700 meters. Last year, the government wanted to reduce it to 500 meters, but the wind power bill was vetoed by President Karol Nawrocki, who justified his decision in part by pointing to a lack of sufficient public support for such a change.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is needed here above all is broader communication with local communities and stronger promotion of this technology, which is cheap and relatively easy to deploy and expand, as well as a broad public information campaign similar to the one we have seen in the case of nuclear energy. Unfortunately, it still remains the subject of numerous debates and political disputes, far more political than substantive,\u201d Tomasz Guzowski said.<\/p>\n
According to a survey conducted by More in Common Polska in August 2025, 64% of respondents supported the development of onshore wind farms in Poland. Twenty-four percent were opposed, while 12% had no opinion. More than half of respondents also viewed the prospect of such installations being built near their place of residence positively. A similar share was recorded among residents of villages and small towns, where the largest number of such projects would potentially be developed. Fewer than one-third of Poles declared concerns about living near wind farms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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