The whole renewable energy sector in Poland is waiting for the new act on renewable energy sources (RES). Publication of the first draft of the bill on the governmental website is expected in the upcoming weeks.
The new act on RES has to be adopted, as the present regulations are not sufficient for proper implementation of the Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources. Present Polish regulations on RES are also said not to be effective enough to stimulate RES development. A separate act on RES is a new approach – currently RES issues are regulated in the Energy Law , a complex act which regulates gas, heat and power matters.
Polish system of RES support is based on green certificates and it is rather unlikely that this system will be changed. However, at this point the exact direction of the amendments is uncertain as no text of the bill nor even its general outlines have been published yet. This uncertainty has an adverse effect on RES investment. Unstable legal environment is always a significant risk factor and especially banks take it into account when talking about RES financing.
It seems very important for the RES sector to adopt the new act as soon as possible. However, publication of the first draft of the bill will only be a starting point of the legislative process. Wide discussion on the act on RES is expected as it is controversial and has to bring together interests of different lobbies. Publication on the first draft of the new act has already been postponed a couple of times.
Let’s hope that this time it will actually be published and a long and painful legislative process will finally begin.
Agata Bator is a legal advisor and Senior Associate at Domański Zakrzewski Palinka sp.k. She is a member of the team that advises companies in the gas, energy, heating and fuel sectors. She deals particularly with providing full-range advisory to clients in the cogeneration and renewable energy sector. Agata also advises on M&A projects, especially at the due diligence stage and company restructuring.