The world is in chaos. The priority is to stop the spread of the virus and contain the crisis. A stable energy supply is crucial - it's hard to imagine what would happen if there was no power or heat supply now. The million dollar question however, how will the current crisis affect the energy transformation in the long term?

Poland, along several other European Union Member States, is unlikely to meet its national 15% renewable energy target for 2020 on time[1]. However, despite the possibility to impose sanctions for failure to meet national obligations, including financial penalties, the European Commission is not interested in punishing countries just for the sake of punishment. The potential consequences for countries that are lagging behind should be understood rather as a means of mobilising them to catch up, but also to increase their ambitions to meet the second of the EU RES targets - the one set in the 2030 horizon.

Electricity production from coal is decreasing, electricity imports are increasing; the importance of gas in the energy mix continues to grow, and renewable energy sources also play a more important role in the system. These are the key conclusions of the Forum's recent study "Energy transition in Poland". This is the third edition of the report, which presents key data on the state of the Polish energy sector and its changes.  

Offshore wind farms are still a distant perspective, even though the first location permits were issued in 2012. After many years, a draft act on the promotion of offshore wind electricity generation, which is expected to accelerate offshore development in Poland, has been finally prepared. The period of public consultations of the bill ended on February 14th and there is a chance to complete the legislative efforts by mid-2020. Are the proposed solutions sufficient and will they serve their purpose?

The European Commission presented a draft regulation on the Just Transition Fund. This is an instrument to bring the UE closer to achieving climate neutrality in 2050 and prevent possible social exclusion. Although Poland proposed the creation of the fund, we missed the discussion about its shape.

The RES auction marathon is behind us and we finally know the final result. Twelve auctions for various technological baskets, for new and existing installations, were held during three weeks. The contracted 90.3 TWh of new, green electricity for 15 years is worth PLN 20.2 billion. As much as 86% of this volume will be purchased at prices lower than those currently prevailing on the wholesale electricity market. This is another proof that renewable energy sources can compete with conventional units without additional support. 

The fourth capacity market auction was held on the 6th of December 2019. Although there were some long-awaited new projects, the Santa Claus gift (which the capacity market support could be) was offered primarily to the existing coal-fired units, which in most cases decided to modernize. They were allowed to participate in the auction for the last time, as the European Union regulations will not allow such participation from next year.

On the 8th of November 2019, the Ministry of Energy has presented an updated draft of Poland's Energy Policy until 2040. Yet, the adoption of the energy strategy will be the responsibility of the new government, including new ministries - the Ministry of State Assets and the Ministry of Climate. In our opinion, it is high time for Poland to address the climate and energy crisis. It is also important for us to start implementing the commitments made at the EU forum. The energy sector should be given a course in line with international trends, and not be allowed to float in a random direction.

In Poland we have just reached 1 GW of capacity in photovoltaic installations. Their growth rate has accelerated in the last several months. With the increasing economic attractiveness of photovoltaics, we are no longer wondering whether this development will be continued, but what are its limits. One thing is certain - we will wait much shorter for the next gigawatt and there will be at least a few drivers of this growth.

We are starting to implement new EU energy regulations. Will the "Clean energy for all Europeans" package heal the Polish energy sector and give it an impulse for development? How can the energy consumer benefit from the changes? In Forum Energii's report "Small steps to big changes", we analyse the provisions of the Package and their consequences for Poland.