Below we present an overview of the most important news from the renewable energy sources (RES) sector from February 27 to March 3 this year.
RES MARKET
Distance Act: Changing the minimum distance from 500 meters to 700 meters will destroy the potential of wind energy, the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) estimates. “For American companies investing in Poland, it is crucial that Polish law responds to business needs. In the area of renewable energy sources, regulations should implement energy efficiency solutions, reduce the costs of the green transformation, support investments and create jobs. The minimum distance of 500 meters ensures optimal development of onshore wind energy. Interference with the provisions approved in broad consultations is a signal to foreign investors about the lack of regulatory stability of the Polish market,” said the director of legal and public policy at AmCham, quoted in the release.
Ecological fuels: Six out of 10 respondents are of the opinion that the petrol stations of the future will be ecological, and when choosing a station, the availability of chargers for electric cars and a wide range of products and services, including healthy meals tailored to various dietary needs, will be crucial, according to the study “Future petrol stations”, carried out by the ARC Rynek i Opinia research institute on behalf of Anwim – the owner of the Moya petrol station network.
Energy transition: Methods for measuring the scale of climate risk and a possible increase in capital requirements for banks involved in financing the fossil fuel sector and high-carbon activities are the subject of ongoing work within the European Banking Authority (EBA). The guidelines in this regard are planned to be issued in 2024, informed the chairman of the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF), Jacek Jastrzębski.
RES COMPANIES
DB Energy: Signed a letter of intent with Efeso Consulting regarding cooperation in the provision of energy efficiency services as part of a joint venture, the company announced.
Columbus Energy: Received a loan of 10 million euros to finance operating activities related to the implementation of projects of photovoltaic farms and large-scale energy storage, the company said.
PKN Orlen: It sees great potential in the development of generation sources based on renewable energy outside Poland, said Robert Śleszyński, Executive Director for Capital Investments.
PKN Orlen: The updated strategy of the capital group assumes, among others: the end of coal-fired energy production by 2035 and the achievement of emission neutrality in 2050, the company announced.
PKN Orlen: The updated strategy of the capital group assumes, among others: refinery processing capacity at the level of approx. 42 million tonnes of crude oil per year, 5 thousand petrol stations, over 9 GW of installed capacity in renewable energy sources (RES) and over 130,000. t per year of renewable hydrogen production, the company said.
Carbon Group: The Management Board of Carbon Group (formerly Elektromont) filed with the District Court in Jelenia Góra an application to open bankruptcy proceedings and an application to open arrangement proceedings, the company announced. The overriding goal of Carbon Group is currently to avoid bankruptcy by allowing the company to restructure by concluding an arrangement with creditors.
Gaz-System: Submitted an application for PCI priority status under European support instruments for three hydrogen projects planned by the company. These include: the Nordic-Baltic Hydrogen Corridor, which aims to build a corridor to transport hydrogen from Finland, through the Baltic States and Poland to Germany; National hydrogen backbone including infrastructure connecting domestic hydrogen producers, import sources, hydrogen storage in Damasławek with end users and possibly local distribution networks; Hydrogen storage in Damasławek.
CONTRACTS AND IMPLEMENTATIONS
Pure City: Signed an agreement to obtain green certificates of energy origin from Nadmorskie Elektrownia Wiatrowa in Darżyno, the company announced.
Budimex: It will launch its first wind farm in April, predicts Marcin Węgłowski, board member and director of the economic and financial department.
Columbus Energy: As part of the next tranche of the transaction with Engie Zielona Energia, it sold 12 companies implementing photovoltaic farm projects with a total capacity of 17.5 MW, the company announced. From the acquired capital, Columbus repaid over PLN 70 million of green bonds.
PKO BP: The Bank and Accelpoint have selected 15 startups from the greentech area for the next stage of the “Poland ClimAccelerator” acceleration program, the bank announced.
Global Hydrogen: The company has signed cooperation agreements with several partners to carry out research and testing of the supplied substrate. This is the next stage of the implementation of the micro biogas plant prototype project, which was announced by the company in December last year. As part of the concluded agreements, Global Hydrogen will carry out research and tests of the substrate provided by the partners, and the results obtained will be used to determine its biogas efficiency, i.e. its energy potential. The micro biogas plant is a concept of Global Hydrogen, which will be addressed primarily to food producers, companies dealing with green waste and smaller farms.