An Analysis of Competitiveness and Potential of Renewable Energy Technologies in Poland

Abstract

Since the adoption of the 2009/28/EC Directive several renewable energy sources (RES) bills have appeared proposing completely different support mechanisms. The act was finally passed on the 20th of February 2015, with quite surprising abandonment of tradable green certificates as the primary support instrument in favour of an auctioning system. The paper aims to assess the competitiveness and capability of development of individual RES technologies in Poland in the auctioning system based on a critical evaluation of the proposed legal regulations and the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) for each technology. Results indicate that auctions will be dominated by small- and medium-scale biomass technologies (1–50 MW). This includes retrofitting of existing medium plants and converting them into biomass CHP. Only wind is capable of competing with biomass technologies. The main shortcomings of the RES bill are: (1) system is extremely complicated, subject to bureaucracy, and arbitrary in key aspects; (2) the limitation in the auctions for so-called unstable technologies; (3) the absence of a real support system for microinstallations; (4) the lack of support for green heat; (5) cause further intensification of the dominating presence of power corporations at the expense of other market participants (6) cause further concentration of the declining RES technologies on the market and the overuse of the renewable yet limited power source, biomass.