La potencia instalada en Polonia es de sólo 442MW (a finales de 2008), y hay 11 parques eólicos en costrucción. En 2010 deberá haber unos 2.000 MW, según los planes del gobierno.
"Polonia es un mercado prioritario para nosotros, llegamos aquí para quedarnos por muchos años, y con esa perspectiva planeamos nuestro desarrollo. Tenemos la ambición de convertirnos en el jugador más grande en este mercado", asegura Radek Nowak, miembro del consejo de Neolica Polska, sociedad que forma parte del grupo EDP.
Los portugueses han construido ya más de veinte aerogeneradores con una potencia de 2 megavatios (MW) cada uno, y cada semana se suman dos o tres más.
"En total se contará con 60 aerogeneradores y 120 megavatios, y será el parque eólico más grande de Polonia", puntualiza Nowak.
En este país también están presentes empresas españolas como Iberdrola, Gamesa y Gestamp, que desarrollan diferentes proyectos energía eólica.
En los últimos días REpower (10 MW) y Nordex (50 MW) han inaugurado sendos parques eólicos en Polonia. RWE ha inciado el parque eólico Suwalki, de 41,4 MW, al noreste del país, Vestas logró un pedido de 51 MW para Karcino, de la eléctrica danesa Dong Energy, y LM Glasfiber inauguró una fábrica de palas en Goleniów.
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EPD looks for z³.360 mln to finance massive wind farm
In total the farm will count 60 windmills with a capacity of 120MW, making it the largest in Poland.
EPD, the largest energy concern in Portugal, has applied for a loan worth z³.360 million from the European Investment Bank (EIB), which would allow the group to finance 50% of its investment in Margonin in the Wielkopolskie voivodship.
It is here, according to EPD representatives, that the largest wind farm in Poland will soon be built. "We have already constructed over 20 windmills of 2MW capacity each. Every week another 2-3 are built. In total the farm will count 60 windmills with a capacity of 120MW. This will be the largest wind farm in Poland," said Radek Nowak, a member of board in Neolica Polska, which is controlled by EPD.
He went on to add that the company is trying to raise funds not only from the EIB but also from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. "However, we are ready to finance the project from our own funds," added Nowak.
REpower Inaugurates First Wind Farm in Poland
REpower Systems AG and Martifer Renewables have inaugurated the first of two jointly planned wind farms in Rzeszow near Krakow, Poland. The project "Leki Dukielskie" comprises five REpower MM92 turbines, each with a rated output of 2 megawatts (MW).
The five REpower turbines were inaugurated during a ceremony held on the wind farm. With a total capacity of 10 MW, “Leki Dukielskie” will supply power for around 5,000 households (or 20,000 people) with immediate effect.
“Bukowsko”, the second wind farm project planned by Martifer Renewables and REpower, will comprise eight MM92 turbines and is due to be commissioned by the end of this year. This wind farm is also located near Rzeszow.
The projects is located in the south-east of the country. This is the first wind farm project undertaken in Poland by Germany’s third-largest wind turbine manufacturer.
Tychowo Wind Farm On-line
Nordex AG has completed a new wind farm in Tychowo, around 350 km north-west of Warsaw, in Poland, on the Baltic coast.
The installation comprises 20 N90/2500 turbines each with a nominal output of 2.5 MW and will be generating some 100 GWh annually. The turbines of the 50 MW wind farm have been assembled on top of tubular towers with a height of 100 meters. As measurements indicated mean wind speeds of 6.5 m/s, the low-speed version of the N90/2500 has been used, Nordex says.
The operating company is Megawatt Baltika, a subsidiary of the Austrian-Spanish joint venture RP Global.
José Lozano, CFO at RP Global, said: "Tychowo is proof that renewable energy projects can be financed despite the extremely difficult conditions in the capital market as a result of the global economic crisis. We hope that the completion of Tychowo will also encourage other investors to step up their project activities in Poland."
PSE Operator, a state-owned Polish transmission system operator, has determined and agreed on the conditions of connecting the planned wind farms with joined capacity of over 9,500 MW to the state electricity grid. The planned capacity increased by 40% over the last year. If the projects materialise, Poland would have no problems meeting EU requirements of 20% share of renewable energy sources in electricity production.
Overview of Electricity Supply in Poland
The business environment in Poland is generally good. The Polish power generation system is the largest in Central and Eastern Europe in terms of capacity. The power system is very fragmented, with nearly 400 power plants. Electricity generation is carried out by the state-owned Polish Power Grid Company SA (PSE) and a number of independent power producers (IPPs), which are partly owned by private companies. Over 97 percent of power generation is coal-fired, but there is potential for energy from renewable sources, particularly biomass and geothermal energy. Transmission is also controlled by PSE. The Polish power sector is set for gradual deregulation in line with European Union directives.
Industry-based power generation for internal use in Poland accounts for about eight billion kWh annually, of which more than six billion kWh is produced from combined-heat-and-power (CHP) cogeneration. Nearly 16 billion kWh is generated annually from district heating CHP plants. Overall, more than 15 percent of Poland’s total electricity generation is generated in conjunction with heat.
Poland’s generating capacity is aging. Much of the current equipment was installed in the 1970s, and modernization efforts are required to maintain capacity and efficiency.
Additionally, there are plans to expand the existing transmission and distribution networks. These investments in the electricity industry are estimated to cost around $50 billion over the next 15 years. Much of this cost, though, is proposed to be covered in the process of privatization.
Energy Policy, Barriers and Incentives
The Development Strategy of Renewable Energy Sector was adopted by the Parliament of the Republic of Poland in August 2001.
The strategic objective is the increase the share of energy from renewable sources in Poland’s primary energy balance to 7.5 percent in 2010 and to 14 percent in 2020.
The Minister of Economy may, in the way of an ordinance impose on the energy enterprises dealing with trade of electric energy and heat, the obligation to purchase electric energy and heat produced by unconventional sources including renewable sources, and determine the detailed scope of this obligation.
Recently, new regulations from the Ministry of Economy oblige power utilities and energy turnover companies to buy energy from renewable sources. This year the limit is set at 2.5 percent of total produced and sold energy. To catch up with the European Union standards Poland needs to install more than 1,000MW.
Wind
Due to excellent wind conditions and legal regulations, Poland is one of the most promising wind energy markets in Europe. The country possesses plenty of potentially profitable locations and great development possibilities.
Much of Poland has favorable conditions for wind energy production. The average wind speed in Poland varies between 5.5 and 7.0 m/s at a height of 50 meters. Assessed productivity of one 2MW machine may be equal to as much as 5.000 MWh per year.
A country wide wind-atlas is available. According to this atlas there is one area in the northwest with wind speeds above 6 m/s at 10m. The Baltic coast, one large central area and an area to the north show wind speeds of 5 m/s.
The best sites are in the southern mountainous region and along the Baltic coast. The wind resources range from more than 1,000 kW/m2/year near the Baltic coast to less than 400 kW/m2/year in the center of the country. In the mountain range some sites are said to have high average wind velocities (10 m/s) due to local conditions.
Recently, the Risoe National Laboratory from Denmark widened the geographical scope of wind estimates in the European Wind Atlas to now include Poland. Risoe’s estimates indicate that wind conditions along the Pomeranian Coastline are similar to those in Denmark and the Netherlands. In Central Poland, wind resources are very similar to those found in Germany.
WIND ENERGY IN POLAND
The installed capacity in Poland is ~442MW (on 26.11.2008). 11 professional projects may be listed among the investments. There are also single turbines or groups of a number of small turbines distributed among the whole country. The average capacity of a wind turbine located in Poland is approximately 1,52 MW.
Wind energy density in Poland is one of the smallest in Europe. Installed capacity per capita is 0,0037 kW, whereas per km2 of land area the figure amounts to 0,45 kW.
PRODUCTION OF WIND ENERGY
– 2004: 142,3 GWh,
– 2005: 135,3 GWh,
– 2006: 388,4 GWh
– 2007: 494,2 GWh
Share of wind generation in domestic consumption of electric energy:
– 2004: 0,1% (142 GWh/ 144 TWh),
– 2005: 0,09% (135 GWh/ 145 TWh),
– 2006: 0,16% (245,5GWh/ 149TWh).
Government plans for year 2010:
– 2000 MW of installed capacity,
– 2,3% share of wind generation in domestic energy consumption,
– Power growth required in the period 2006 – 2010: over 1800 MW, i.e. approximately 450 MW of new installations per year.
In terms of installed power Poland is not visible on the world map yet. Poland are far behind Germany, the USA, Spain, Denmark, Italy, the UK, the Netherlands, Portugal, France, Greece, Sweden, Ireland…. But Poland have a significant development potential.
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A closer look at Poland
Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. The total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometers making it the 69th largest country in the world and the ninth largest in Europe.
Poland has a population of over 38 million people which makes it the 33rd most populous country in the world. Poland has a vast wind potential and could strongly develop wind power as a key contributor to its 2020 renewables target. For this to happen, a revised energy policy which fully includes renewables is needed to fully exploit that potential without any more delay.
Although comparatively small, the size of the market is increasing steadily in Poland. In 2007 the cumulative installed capacity was 276 MW with an annual increase of 123 MW from 2006. In 2008, 196 MW were installed to reach a cumulative total of 472 MW. Numerous foreign investors are looking to Poland to increase their portfolios. For example, Portugal’s Martifer has projects for 45 MW, Dong will commission a further 30 MW in 2009 (31 were commissioned in 2007) and RWE has placed orders for turbines totalling 76 MW for two wind farms. Finally, Agrowind is working with Eurotrust to develop some 400 MW of projects.
Despite the huge potential and the investors’ interests, many barriers still remain to be addressed if wind energy is to take off in Poland. The lack of transmission capacity, the urgent need to upgrade the infrastructure, and the lack of transparent rules for sharing connection costs are among the most problematic obstacles. Environmental impact assessments are another diffi cult area delaying several projects simply because rules are constantly changing.
Political will, administrative procedures and issues of social acceptance are problems faced by the wind industry. The Polish government has recently consulted on a strategy called “Poland’s Energy Policy up to 2030” which emphasises the need to increase security of supply and competitiveness of the energy sector. It also promotes the environment and the need to combat climate change.
For the Polish Wind Energy Association (PSEW), the renewables goals are given very little consideration compared to the development of fossil fuel generation and nuclear power. The association also regrets that the barriers mentioned above are not suffi ciently addressed in the strategy. But the dialogue is open. With an EU objective to meet by 2020 and the country’s wind potential, we could see changes soon.
Given the present state of the electricity grid, PSEW considers that 24 to 31 TWh of wind energy production, which is about 12% of demand, to be a realistic objective by 2020.
Poland – the wind energy facts
EU RENEWABLES DIRECTIVE OBJECTIVE: . . . . 15% (2005 = 7.2%)
CURRENT INSTALLED WIND CAPACITY: . . . . . . 472 MW (end 2008)
% WIND IN ELECTRICITY DEMAND:. . . . . . . . . 0.4% (2007 – EWEA Pure Power report)
ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION BY WIND:. . . . . . . 723 TWh (2008 – Energy Regulatory Office – URE)
NUMBER OF WIND TURBINES:. . . . . . . . . . . . 227
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