We are changing the energy market slowly but more consistently than ever before

However, this is only one side of the coin. The other is the photovoltaic surge, which translated into a 5.5-fold growth in the production of energy from solar sources in just two years. This is not the only developmental spike observed in the data. Contrary to the stereotype of “lost years”, the energy bloodstream of Poland has been constantly adapting to changes as well as responding to trends in Europe and the world, although not all ventures have been successful.

In the first years following Poland’s accession to the EU, bioenergy was the fastest-growing sector of the energy market, allowing the energy industry, primarily owing to the formula of co-incineration in coal units, to take advantage of EU subsidies, thereby minimising necessary investments. The first half of the second decade of the 21st century saw the rapid expansion of wind farms, which only came to a halt with the implementation of the distance regulations that calcified the market, namely the 10H principle preventing the erection of wind turbines near houses. Recent years have been dominated by a host of gas ventures, with the most prominent examples being the gas units developed at the Dolna Odra and Ostrołęka energy plants.