At the turn of the year, we traditionally take stock of the passing twelve months and make plans for the future. So it’s worth asking what significant developments have taken place in the RES sector, especially in the wind energy industry, which is becoming an increasingly important component of green energy and the ongoing energy transition.
Wind energy – new investments and continuation of those already underway
The year 2023 for wind energy – both offshore and onshore – was marked by relatively high investment implementation costs, primarily due to the dynamics of the prices of steel and other components necessary for the construction of a wind farm. The key factor here is steel prices. This, in turn, for investors meant the need to calculate the budget well and ensure adequate financing. This does not change the fact that the construction of a wind farm – if well prepared and carried out – is a really profitable business. This is evidenced by the development of the Polish, European and global offshore and onshore markets.
In Poland, the total capacity of wind farms is more than 9.1 GW, and we already boast at least a few investments that can be compared to the largest wind farms located in other European Union countries. The indicated value relates to the end of August 2023, and when juxtaposed with the end of August 2022, there was a 15.1 percent increase in installed capacity. Last year, wind farms – according to a summary prepared by the rynekelektryczny.pl portal – accounted for about 14.2 percent of the entire electricity system in Poland.
Construction of a wind power plant – the most important changes in the law 2023
In view of this, it is difficult to doubt that investment in wind farms offers interesting environmental and business prospects. This is also evidenced by the actions of the legislature, which is attempting to liberalize regulations on the rules for the construction of wind farms, especially by moving away from the restrictive “10H” rule. Unfortunately, the previous year has not yet brought a breakthrough in this area. On the other hand, important changes have been introduced with the reform of spatial planning. Under the new regulations, a wind power plant will be allowed to be built only on the basis of the provisions of a local zoning plan, which are to be obligatorily adopted in each municipality. It is therefore worth appealing to local government officials to take into account the needs of the green energy market in these documents.