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Rising number of grid-connection permits shows 2020 could be another record year for Polish solar

Polish renewable energy body the Instytut Energetyki Odnawialnej (IEO) has reported the first half of the year saw almost 1,000 photovoltaic projects receive preliminary grid-connection approval and said the figures could herald another record year for solar.

“The total power of the issued permits was on average twice as high as in the corresponding period in 2019,” stated the IEO. “The only exception was April, which … in 2019 and 2020 recorded similar values in the issued connection conditions.”

Last year, preliminary grid-connection approvals for PV projects reached around 2 GW, with final permits given to around 730 MW of project capacity. In the first half of this year, preliminary permits topped 1.3 GW and final approvals hit 600 MW.

If the pace of the first half of this year is maintained in the following months of 2020, the record may fall and the connection conditions to the grid will receive over 2 GW of photovoltaic projects,” the institute said. “Moreover, more and more large photovoltaic projects are starting to appear on the Polish market. Currently, 29 PV projects with a capacity of more than 10 MW [each] have conditions to be connected to the grid and their total capacity exceeds 1 GW.”

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The Polish Ministry of Climate has said it could allocate 1.7 GW of solar generation capacity in renewables auctions next year, on top of the 1.5 GW of solar the government is expecting to contract in this year’s two procurement rounds. The government expects to tender around 800 MW of solar in this year’s exercise for projects with a generation capacity up to 1 MW, and 700 MW in the tender for larger facilities.

Grid operator Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne has said the country reached 2,261.3 MW of solar capacity at the end of July. A 7.8 GW solar target for 2030, set as part of the National Plan for Energy and Climate, may be reached by 2025, according to a recent IEO report.

Source: pv magazine