New Capacities of Professional PV Installations in Poland: Grid Connection Challenges and Regional Disparities
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The PV farm market is just gaining momentum. In a survey from early 1Q 2023 conducted by the Institute of Renewable Energy, the statistical sample surveyed confirms business involvement in the construction of increasingly large PV farms, above 20, 30, and especially 50 MW (Total currently nearly 2.5GW in the early stage of preparation and more than 0.5GW in the advanced stage). IEO data on grid connection conditions obtained confirms that in 2022 there were 3402 MW of projects with valid connection conditions issued, and in the first quarter of 2023 it was 974 MW.
New capacities of professional PV installations with connection agreement in Poland (GW)
It is noteworthy that in the 2021-23 project database, there is a faster increase in connection agreements than in connection conditions, and that in 2022 (compared to the state at the end of 2021) the capacity of projects that have obtained building permits is not decreasing. For the past two years, the development of photovoltaic power plants has been increasingly limited by the availability of grid connection capacity.
Distribution system operators, in accordance with the provisions of the Energy Law, update and make available information on the size of available connection capacities for networks above 1 kV for the next five years.
Analysis by the Institute of Renewable Energy shows that, according to data as of the end of 1Q23, the total connection capacity available to investors for the next five years (2023-28) will increase slightly (from 3.8 to 4.4 GW), but compared to the plans issued by DNOs and PSEs a year ago, this is a decrease of 41%.
This illustrates the deteriorating condition and declining capacity of the power grid. The highest grid capacity can be seen for Wielkopolska province. Wielkopolska and Kujawsko-Pomorskie Voivodeships are the only ones to have more than 1 GW of available connection capacity for RES, and they stand out significantly from the rest. At the other end of the power availability spectrum are the provinces of Świętokrzyskie, Lublin, Lower Silesia, Opole and, above all, Warmia-Mazury.
