Draft renewables law draws criticism in Poland

The Polish treasury has raised concerns that the Energy Ministry is to price ‘green’ energy out of the local market with a new law.

The ministry had proposed a draft bill over the summer which assumed a decline in support for biomass co-firing at the country’s power stations.

The treasury claims that if the new law is passed then Poland would not meet the European Union’s goal of producing at least 15% of its energy from renewable sources. Poland currently generates 90% of its electricity supply from coal.

The ministry has argued that the consumption of biomass in coal-fired power stations, which rose from 1.7 million to 5.1 million metric tonnes over the past six years, is not economically viable due to high costs of imports.

The draft law has garnered criticism from Poland’s biggest utility company PGE and also the country's wind power advocates.