Major milestone for Polish energy as renewables generated more electricity than coal for first month

In June 2025, each renewable power sources (RES) successful Poland produced 44.1 per cent of electricity, while ember and lignite plants produced 43.7 per cent, according to preliminary estimates from nan deliberation vessel Energy Forum.

This would mean that, for nan first clip ever, renewables provided much power than coal.

In nan full 2nd quarter, coal's stock successful Poland's power operation was 45.2 per cent, truthful it was nan first 4th successful nan history of nan Polish power assemblage erstwhile little than half of nan power produced came from this source.

Still, nan mostly of power successful Poland comes from fossil fuels, arsenic earthy gas-fired powerfulness plants are responsible for nan immense mostly of nan remaining respective per cent of nan power mix.

This business is shifting too, however. Figures from the Instrat Foundation show that connected 29 June nan stock of emission-free sources was 49.5 per cent.

RES successful Poland: Favourable weather, unfavourable regulations

"This is chiefly owed to procreation from photovoltaic [solar] sources, whose installed capacity accrued by 24 per cent compared to nan erstwhile year, reaching 23 GW," explains Dr Maria Niewierko from nan Energy Forum (Forum Energii). Just 5 years agone location were only 2 GW of PV installations successful Poland.

"In addition, June was exceptionally windy, resulting successful double nan upwind powerfulness procreation compared to a twelvemonth ago."

The opening of July brought a flimsy alteration successful nan stock of RES successful powerfulness generation, to astir 33-34 per cent. Industry representatives caution, however, that much important decreases are to beryllium expected successful wintertime arsenic a consequence of importantly little ratio of star installations.

A cardinal situation for Poland is nan removal of barriers delaying nan energy transition.

"The improvement of onshore upwind energy, which was virtually wholly halted by nan authorities successful 2016 and only 2 years agone started to liberalise these regulations, is still very limited," Dr Niewierko adds.

"The measure that is expected to unlock nan improvement of this cheapest exertion for Poland, aft passing done nan Senate, is awaiting nan signature of nan president, who is showing little favour for this solution. The task for nan first atomic powerfulness works is besides being delayed, pinch nan original scheme being to motorboat nan portion successful 2033, but now location is talk of 2036."

"The biggest situation remains nan outdated infrastructure. Transmission grids request to beryllium upgraded and nan deficiency of capable power retention prevents afloat usage of highest generation," says Sebastian Skolimowski of PAD RES, a RES powerfulness works creation company.

"In bid to afloat unlock nan imaginable of RES, investments successful grid description and digitalisation, nan building of retention facilities, and unchangeable regulations favouring nan improvement of upwind farms are required."

Poland is 1 of nan world's astir polluting economies

Although nan stock of fossil fuels successful nan accumulation of energy successful Poland is falling, representatives of nan Energy Forum constituent retired that this is not nan lawsuit for nan full economy.

Over nan past 20 years, since Poland's accession to nan EU, Poland has seen 2 opposing trends - ember depletion has fallen by 38 per cent, while lipid depletion has accrued by 41 per cent and earthy state by 43 per cent.

"Despite being wholly independent of earthy materials from Russia, nan fossil substance import measure is still gigantic. In 2024, Poland paid arsenic overmuch arsenic PLN 112 cardinal for them," says Kacper Kwidziński, expert astatine Energy Forum.

"At nan aforesaid time, Poland's wide dependence connected imports of power carriers is increasing - successful a decade it has accrued from 29 per cent to 45 per cent. The top dependence for years has been connected crude oil, almost 97 per cent of which comes from abroad," he adds.

"This shows that contempt nan partial advancement of nan power transition, nan Polish system still relies heavy connected imported fuels and we are paying a precocious value for this dependence."

The study Energy Transition of Poland 2025shows that Poland still ranks among nan world's astir emitting economies some per portion of GDP and power consumption.

Only Kuwait, South Africa, Kazakhstan and China are worse than Poland successful position of emissions.