Poland

Figures from Poland’s Energy Regulatory Authority (URE) show that solar accounted for 198 of the 200 successful bids awarded under the country’s latest renewables auctions. Auctions covering hydroelectric power plants, agricultural biogas plants, and biomass went unresolved due to a lack of valid offers.

In five key trends, pv magazine looks back over a year that saw PV module prices fall lower than many thought possible, while demand was restrained by grid congestion, among other challenges. Energy storage has had a strong year and geopolitics is seeing solar and battery manufacturing enter new regions as competition drives technical innovation.

The much-anticipated capacity market auction for 2029 conducted by Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne (PSE) ended in the seventh round with a price of PLN 264.90 ($62.12)/kW per year. Such a clearing price rendered gas projects uneconomical and left significant room for battery storage systems to secure contracts.

The Chinese company says its three-phase Hienergy series can pair with PV arrays of up to 8.5 kW, with battery storage reaching up to 40.8 kWh.

Renewables developer OX2 has secured a €73 million ($76.8 million) financing package from bank Nord/LB for a 100 MW solar farm currently under development in southwestern Poland.

Poland’s Institute for Renewable Energy (IEO) says that building permits have been issued for nearly 1,500 solar projects totaling over 12.3 GW. Some of these projects may secure authorization in Poland’s upcoming renewables auction, set for December.

The transaction, consisting of equity and convertible bonds, will cover Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Poland and Croatia. RP Global aims to commission 2.5 GWp of renewable power in the next five years.

A European research team proposed a new air-source heat pump sizing approach that utilizes long-term climate data and adjusts system operation based on actual local climate conditions. The sizing algorithm incorporates peak heat demand, unitary final energy demand, and seasonal heat demand across different house sizes.

Researchers from Poland have assessed how texturized glass used as the front cover of building-integrated photovoltaic panels affects performance. They have found power yield could be up to 5% lower compared to modules based on conventional glass, with reflection parameters being up to 88% in visible region.

Developed by scientists in Poland, the new coating uses transparent silicone-epoxy modified with functionalized octaspherosilicates. The researchers have created five samples, each with a different combination of chemicals, and have found that ice adhesion was reduced by up to 43%, with freezing delay time growing by up to 70 times.