While industrial emissions reduction is a key focus in Europe’s competitiveness discussions, it is notably absent from Poland’s. This is significant given that industry accounts for 23% of Poland’s GDP, employs one in five workers, and generates a quarter of the country’s emissions and energy consumption. Forum Energii’s reports provide essential insights into Poland’s industrial landscape and available decarbonisation technologies.   

Poland’s energy transition is progressing, and 2023 was a year of real records. Although coal remains the main source of electricity production, its share in the mix fell to an all-time low of 60.5%, down 10 p.p. from a year earlier. Production from RES reached 27% for the first time. At the same time, energy production from natural gas increased, by more than 40%. This is a result of falling fuel prices and the flexibility of gas generation. Wholesale energy prices in Poland compared to other EU countries remain very high, and the economy’s dependence on imported fossil fuels is growing rapidly. In the latest, seventh edition of the “Energy Transition in Poland” report, Forum Energii presents the state of transition play and a broader look at the overall process.

Wind power is playing an increasingly important role in Poland's electricity system. Onshore wind farms are expected to become the second source in the electricity production mix this year, overtaking lignite. And as early as 2026, the first terawatt-hours from offshore wind turbines in Poland's Baltic region will be added to the Polish mix. In a new report by Forum Energii, we outline the state of the game: whether offshore will be launched on time, how to improve processes so that investments are made without delays, and how to realize the real potential of offshore wind energy on the Polish coast. 

In October 2023, the European Union adopted a revision of the directive promoting the development of renewable energy, setting new, higher targets for the community. In Forum Enegrii's report "Understanding EU's and Poland's Renewable Energy Goals", we analyze how the EU targets translate into the realities of Poland and other EU countries.

The European Council decided on December 14 to open accession negotiations with Ukraine. In the coming months and years, Ukraine will have to do the arduous, technical work of implementing EU regulations. This includes the energy sector. In the roadmap prepared by the Green Deal Ukraïna project, in which Forum Energii is a partner, we identify the most urgent areas of energy and climate reform for Ukraine and take a closer look at the accession negotiations.

Over the past two years, natural gas has become a high-risk fuel: it is subject to huge price fluctuations and, following the disruption of supplies from Russia, competition for imports of this resource from other sources is increasing. Not long ago, there were plans in Poland to significantly increase the consumption of natural gas throughout the economy - by 75% by 2035. It was supposed to be a transition fuel.

The development of renewable energy sources is one of the most urgent needs of the Polish energy system. RES lower energy costs, reduce emissions and increase energy security. However, although energy companies, industry, local authorities and individual consumers are interested in investments in RES, the further development of new, emission-free energy sources has been a challenge. One of the main problems is the denial of connection capacity to new RES investments. In addition to the necessary grid investments, a more efficient use of the existing infrastructure is needed to solve this problem. One of the tools available is cable pooling - enabling the interconnection of RES sources.

2022 was another year of unexpected events. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine changed Europe’s approach to fossil fuel imports, particularly from Russia. The resulting energy crisis triggered by high gas prices and the decline in nuclear and hydroelectric production led to record high energy prices across Europe. These events are changing the way European countries look at the energy transition. Meanwhile, the modernisation of the Polish energy sector is still very slow. An overview of the increasingly comprehensive data on the energy sector is published by Forum Energii in the sixth edition of the report ‘Energy Transition in Poland. Edition 2023’.

If Poland does not come to an agreement on the NRP in the coming months - it will be too late for sensible spending of the money available to the country. By the end of June, the Polish government may present to the European Commission changes to the spending plan for the National Recovery Plan - completed with investments to increase resilience to the energy crisis. Consultations with the EC are just starting. This is the last bell for Poland to reach for loans and grants under the the Recovery and Resilience Facility and the REPowerEU plan. How to change the Polish NRP to make it a practical response to the energy crisis?

The Polish energy system urgently needs an accelerated development of new renewable capacity. Work is underway in the Polish parliament to liberalise the 10 H distance rule, which stemmed development of onshore wind. Changing this rule is one of the most important decisions on which the success of Poland's energy transition lies. The seemingly small change in the location of investments from the originally planned 500 m to 700 m from residential buildings - is a significant reduction in the potential for wind energy development.