Investor uncertainty hurts Polish renewables

Photo: wikipedia

Although at the end of 2013 Poland had 890 wind farms with a combined capacity of 3.4 GW, ranking the country tenth in the EU, in the first nine months of 2014 only 0.3 GW of additional capacity was completed.

The slowdown is thought to have been caused by a planned renewable energy bill, which has been in drafting phase for the last four years, and was only recently presented to parliament for debate.

The bill is expected to significantly alter the structure of subsidies for Polish renewables, thus leaving financial uncertainty hanging over currently planned projects. According to some investors, banks are unwilling to provide credit for any wind farm projects which will have to rely on the new system of subsidy, once implemented.

Foreign investors including Spain’s Iberdrola and the Danish Dong Energy have recently sold their stakes in Poland’s renewable energy sector.

According to Waldemar Pawlak, former leader of the Polish Peasants Party, the renewable energy bill could optimistically be passed within three weeks and be in place from February 2015.

The threat of an EU fine on Poland for not passing the bill is thought to have accelerated the process. (sl)

Source: Rzeczpospolita