PV 2022. The number of consumers consuming is growing more slowly

It happened, as energy market experts warned him. After a revolution in the method of calculating environmentally produced energy, photovoltaics in Poland are going through a crisis. The share prices of companies that deal with photovoltaic cells are collapsing because the market reacted in this way to the new government regulations. The goal was clear, to slow the development of solar energy in our country and perhaps make room for those players who slept during this solar revolution, says Marek Jozeviak of Greenpeace Polska.

In April this year. PGE connected 648 photovoltaic facilities to the grid, which ended 98% monthly decrease.

– These data are very surprising, but they really were, and this is due to the fact that on April 1, new rules for the settlement of consumers with the energy vendor were introduced, which are less favorable than the previous ones – confirms Zuzana Sasiak of the Polish Green Network Association. A consumer is a person who is both a producer and a consumer. It produces energy with its own composition.

The previous rule was that the consumer could store his surplus energy in the network and then collect it when needed. However, according to the new regulations, the consumer will first sell this energy to the network, after which he will have to buy it back, and, unfortunately, the price at which he will buy back will be higher – explains Sasyak.

This means that under the new rules, excess energy accumulated in the summer months is sold cheaper and collected at a higher price in the winter months. – Photovoltaic panels pay off a little less due to the need to adapt Polish law to the European Union, but, paradoxically, they will pay off more and more due to the fact that we are facing an energy crisis – says Wojciech Jakobek, editor-in-chief of Biznesalert.pl.

In the response sent to TVN24, the Ministry of Climate and Environment indicated that effective from April of this year the new system is cost-effective, equitable and “will ensure the continuous and stable development of community energy”. “The system introduced, which complies with European Union law, will improve the safety of the operation of electricity networks” – stressed the ministry.

– In 2015-2022, the largest Polish energy company, such as PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna, spent only 3.5 percent of its capital spending on renewables. This shows how little interest there is in these future technologies – Marek Josewiak assessment. Greenpeace representative Polska noted that renewables this week produced nearly a quarter of our country’s electricity in a single day.

The government has loudly announced major investments in renewable energy. – We are focusing on new sources, such as offshore wind energy, and photovoltaics, such as nuclear energy – Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in the past. Climate and Environment Minister Anna Mosqua also spoke of increasing the share of renewable energy in offshore and onshore wind energy.

These are advertisements, and in fact the government is resisting windmills. – The most to be done in the field of onshore wind energy, which can develop immediately, if not because of the many legal barriers that still exist – as claims Wojciech Jakobek.

– We are investing in large wind farms in the Baltic Sea, but at the same time preventing the development of more dispersed units, which can be built for private, grassroots or pooled money – says Jacob Wiech, Deputy Editor-in-Chief -Energetyka24.

In recent years, the Poles have received the most attention in photovoltaic installations and heat pumps. – 2020 was the year we reached a milestone, that is, it was the first time in Poland that more heat pumps were sold than coal-fired boilers. It is a symbol of how quickly these changes, if only favorable regulations were created – notes Marek Josephiak.

Although the energy awareness of the Poles is growing, unfortunately, the share in the renewable energy market is about 16 percent. Coal is still the main energy source used in Poland.