The RES industry in Poland – what changes are likely in the next few years?

1. Planned legislative and regulatory changes

The year 2026 will see the implementation of a number of new national and EU regulations that will shape the legal framework for renewable energy. The most significant development will be the full implementation of the RED III Directive (Renewable Energy Directive III) – a package of EU regulations increasing renewable energy targets and streamlining investment procedures. Poland must align its national legislation with these requirements. The Ministry of Climate and Environment is working on a draft amendment to the RES Act (draft UC118), which is due to be adopted by the government in 2026. The new regulations will introduce administrative simplifications – including maximum time limits for issuing building permits for RES installations. For investments carried out outside designated ‘areas of accelerated RES development’, procedures are to take no longer than two years, and in the case of modernising existing sources (where capacity increases by no more than 15%) – as little as three months. Procedures for building-integrated photovoltaic (PV) projects and energy storage facilities are also set to be simplified – here too, the time taken to issue decisions will be reduced to around 3 months.

At national level, amendments to the RES Act in other areas will also be significant. Changes are anticipated to support the development of collective and virtual prosumers and energy clusters, resulting from the obligation to implement EU rules from the ‘Clean Energy for All Europeans’ package. Furthermore, long-awaited modifications have been made to the so-called 10H rule, which regulates the siting of onshore wind farms. As a reminder: in 2023, the Polish parliament partially relaxed these restrictions, allowing turbines to be built at a minimum distance of 700 m from buildings (instead of the previous strict ten-fold height of the turbine). In practice, this has opened up many new locations for wind turbines. The next step – announced by the climate ministry – is further liberalisation to a minimum distance of 500 m, whilst leaving the final say to local authorities through local development plans. The result will be the unlocking of wind energy’s enormous potential: it is estimated that reducing the distance from 700 m to 500 m could increase the potential installed capacity of wind farms by as much as 60–70%.

In the EU context, the Fit for 55 package also entails changes to other regulations that Poland will implement. These include, amongst others, stricter energy efficiency standards for buildings (which indirectly promotes the installation of renewable energy sources in new construction projects) and provisions to streamline administrative procedures for renewable energy sources in special areas.

2. The evolution of support and financing schemes for renewable energy investments

In parallel with the legal changes, the financial support system for renewable energy sources is undergoing transformation. In Poland, renewable energy auctions have been the main support mechanism for several years – under this system, the state contracts a specific amount of green energy at a maximum price, guaranteeing investors stable revenues (a system similar to a contract for difference). However, the results of recent auctions signal a need for adjustments. In the auctions concluded in 2025, only around 16 TWh was contracted out of the more than 75 TWh of energy offered (just 21% of the volume). Furthermore, photovoltaic producers dominated the winners – as many as 126 PV bids compared to just 3 wind bids.

Grant schemes and financial programmes are also playing an increasingly significant role. The National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW) is continuing and expanding programmes supporting renewable energy sources: both for households (e.g. ‘My Electricity’ supporting photovoltaics and energy storage, ‘Moje Ciepło’ for heat pumps), as well as for businesses and local authorities. New instruments financed from EU funds have been launched – the National Recovery Plan (whose funds are already being implemented) and the Cohesion Funds for 2021–2027.

The market-based financing model for renewable energy is also evolving, as symbolised by the growing popularity of PPAs (Power Purchase Agreements). An increasing number of green energy producers are entering into long-term energy sales contracts directly with industrial or municipal customers. PPAs provide investors with stable prices outside the auction system, whilst offering customers a guarantee of energy originating from RES and protection against market price fluctuations. In Poland, this trend is gaining momentum, and we expect the PPA market to continue its dynamic growth in 2026–2027. Large corporations (e.g. in the automotive, food or data centre sectors) are seeking green energy to meet their ESG targets, which is driving demand for such contracts. Legal regulations are favourable to PPAs – although there is no separate act, the liberalisation of regulations on so-called direct lines (discussed below) and the deregulation of the trading of guarantees of origin facilitate the conclusion of agreements between producers and consumers. It can therefore be predicted that some new renewable energy investments in Poland will be financed without public support, specifically under the corporate PPA model – this applies in particular to larger wind and solar farms, which will enter the market following the lifting of the 10H rule.

It is also worth mentioning the new support mechanisms that may emerge in the coming years. For example, a dedicated incentive scheme for energy storage facilities (to assist in balancing RES within the system) or support for the development of green hydrogen is currently under discussion.

3. Changes in the organisation of the energy market

The transformation of the energy mix necessitates a reorganisation of the electricity market – both in terms of infrastructure and the operating principles of market participants. The expansion and modernisation of the grid is becoming a key challenge. Both the transmission system operator (PSE) and distribution system operators (DSOs) must adapt the infrastructure to accommodate the connection of tens of GW of new renewable capacity. Already today, demand for connection exceeds the grid’s capacity many times over – PSE has warned that the reported potential of renewable energy projects is four times greater than the system’s current capacity. In response, changes have been made to procedures: investors are required to pay a deposit (30 PLN/kW) when submitting connection applications, which eliminates some speculative projects. In the coming years, we will see the effects of these regulations – unverified projects will be dropped from the queues, whilst viable investments will secure a place for connection. PSE is investing heavily in the transmission grid, planning new high-voltage lines and substations, particularly in northern Poland (for offshore wind farms) and in the west and centre (where many PV farms are being built). However, grid expansion is a time-consuming process – hence new mechanisms for managing connections may emerge, such as auctions or tenders for connection capacity (a proposal by PSE to develop the grid in a more planned manner). For investors, this means that access to the grid is becoming a key resource – projects must analyse the region’s transmission capacity and potential connection costs.

Another significant change is the authorisation and development of direct lines. Polish law has recently allowed the construction of power lines connecting an energy producer to a specific consumer, bypassing the public grid (with the consent of the President of the Energy Regulatory Office). A so-called direct line allows, for example, a factory to connect to a nearby solar farm, supplying itself with energy outside the traditional system. Until now, such solutions have been rare – the procedures for obtaining consent were difficult, and investors feared regulatory risk. However, with rising energy prices and the need to secure green energy, it is expected that direct lines will become more popular among large consumers. The legislator is signalling further simplifications in this area – including a simplification of the definition of a direct line and the removal of the requirement for prior refusal of connection to the public grid as a condition for its construction. For lawyers, this means new areas of consultancy – drafting agreements between the generator and the consumer, addressing issues of infrastructure ownership, and transmission charges (direct lines do not have traditional tariffs, but there is, for example, a solidarity levy for the system).

In summary, the organisation of the energy market will become more flexible and complex: traditional players (trading companies, power stations) will gain new partners in the form of energy aggregators, storage operators and energy communities. All these elements will shape the landscape of the Polish energy sector from 2026 onwards, moving towards a more decentralised, green and digital market.

4. The role of prosumers and energy communities

Prosumers – that is, simultaneous producers and consumers of energy – have become an important player in the Polish energy market in recent years. Following the boom in rooftop photovoltaic installations (over 1.2 million individual prosumers by 2023), the legislator has begun to introduce new concepts that will develop in 2026 and beyond. Collective prosumers and tenant prosumers are two such concepts: they enable residents of multi-unit buildings (e.g. blocks of flats, housing estates) to share energy from renewable energy installations. From 1 October 2023, regulations facilitating the installation of PV systems in multi-family buildings came into force – the so-called tenant prosumer model allows housing communities and cooperatives to invest in solar panels on the roof (or even on neighbouring garages or carports) and share the energy produced amongst residents. This is a breakthrough that will only gain popularity in practice: in 2024–2025 we saw the first pilot ‘blocks with their own electricity’, and by 2026 clear billing practices and contract templates for such collective prosumers will be established. The virtual prosumer is another concept – it allows an investor to buy a stake in a renewable energy installation located elsewhere and allocate part of the energy generated towards their own consumption. Although this concept appeared in the legislation as early as 2019, it is only the development of digital billing systems and changes to the Energy Law that can make it a realistic possibility. Perhaps by 2026 we will see offers from energy companies where a customer in a city can become a ‘virtual prosumer’ of a solar farm located in the countryside.

Energy communities encompass broader initiatives, such as energy cooperatives and energy clusters. Until now, these have mainly developed in rural areas – regulations limited the scope of cooperatives to rural and urban-rural municipalities. However, this is changing. From 2026, energy cooperatives will also be able to be established in urban municipalities, paving the way for local energy communities in cities. Such an urban energy cooperative could, for example, build a solar farm on the outskirts of the city and supply energy to members (e.g. residents of blocks of flats, schools, businesses) on preferential terms. Joint investment also enables the installation of larger energy storage facilities, which improves supply stability and reduces the load on the grid. Of course, full success depends on the details – certain concerns have been raised regarding the two registers (separate ones for urban and rural cooperatives) and the application of public procurement law to local government members. Nevertheless, community energy is entering a new phase, and 2026 may prove to be a turning point at which the number of cooperatives will skyrocket.

Regulations concerning prosumers and energy communities place great emphasis on self-consumption – using energy where it is generated. This stems from the need to relieve the grid and avoid transmission costs. From 2026, energy cooperatives will be subject to a minimum self-consumption threshold of 70% (previously 40%) – meaning they must consume the majority of the energy they produce within their own network, feeding no more than 30% of any surplus into the external grid. This is a high requirement, but one that can be met with the right mix of members (different consumption profiles, energy storage, etc.). Whilst there is no fixed threshold for individual prosumers, the cost-effectiveness of the net-billing model encourages them to maximise self-consumption anyway. As a reminder: from 2022, new prosumers will be billed under a value-based system (net-billing), where they sell surpluses at market price and purchase energy at the tariff price. In practice, this means that the more of the energy they produce that they consume on an ongoing basis, the better off they are financially. As part of the adaptation of this system, provisions have been introduced for prosumers, including the possibility of a refund of unused funds from the deposit after the billing year, up to a limit of 30% of the value of the energy fed into the grid in the relevant month covered by the refund.

The role of prosumers will continue to grow, but in a different form than before. The initial wave of development was based on generous net-metering arrangements; now, prosumers are being integrated into local and market structures. Prosumers will become part of wider energy communities, sharing resources (e.g. energy storage facilities within cooperatives) and responding to market price signals. It is possible that aggregators of services for prosumers will emerge – companies that collectively manage hundreds of micro-installations and control their operation (as well as the consumption of household appliances) in order to optimise costs.

5. The impact of EU climate policy on the renewable energy sector

EU climate policy provides the main context for the above changes – it sets the direction and pace of the transition. The ‘Fit for 55’ climate package, adopted at EU level, aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 (compared to 1990) and achieve climate neutrality by 2050. To achieve this, the EU is implementing a range of measures that will directly affect the Polish energy sector.

Conclusion

The coming years will bring unprecedented changes to the Polish renewable energy sector. National legislation, influenced by EU requirements, will open up new investment opportunities – from more accessible onshore wind farms, through facilitation of photovoltaics and storage, to the implementation of innovative prosumer models and energy communities. At the same time, the RES financing model is evolving: traditional support auctions will have to adapt to market realities, whilst commercial contracts and EU funds will play an increasingly significant role. Energy infrastructure and the energy market will become smarter and more flexible to integrate distributed green energy. All this is taking place within the broader context of the fight against climate change, where regulatory pressure will only increase.

Author

Agata Bączkowska

Adwokat, Senior Associate

She specializes in commercial and civil law. She has gained experience in Warsaw law firms providing comprehensive services to companies and a law firm specializing in labor law. She has extensive experience in corporate consulting. She has participated in mergers and acquisitions at every stage of the process, from pre-transaction legal examination to fulfillment of regulatory requirements related to the transformation process. She prepares and reviews contracts entered into by clients and advises in cases of…

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