Fairer curtailment, larger grid flexibility and higher regulation have been all on the business want listing at Kongres PV. From cable pooling to direct strains, Poland hasn’t been afraid to innovate in its method to renewables deployment – however there’s loads of room for enchancment.
Probably the most important challenges going through Poland’s utility-scale photo voltaic sector have been beneath the highlight on Might 27 and Might 28 through the 2024 version of Kongres PV.
Round 50 professional audio system from throughout the photo voltaic business, academia and authorities participated in 9 panel periods, sharing their views on points reminiscent of rising curtailment, grid flexibility, deregulation efforts and extra.
Within the first query of the convention’s opening session, Grzegorz Onichimowski, president of the administration board of Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne S.A. (PSE), was requested “will you curtail at this time?” It was an opener that set the tone for the occasion. The consultant of Poland’s transmission system operator (TSO) took the chance to handle the broader curtailment difficulty, acknowledging that Poland’s grid is underdeveloped and in want of higher low-voltage infrastructure. “You possibly can’t pour one liter of water right into a half liter container,” stated Onichimowski. It was a metaphor that audio system referred to all through the two-day occasion
Curtailment challenges
Attendees heard that Poland is on target to curtail 1 TWh of electrical energy in 2024. Utility-scale plant operators shall be assigned greater than their justifiable share, it was argued, as residential photo voltaic installations aren’t topic to curtailment. Pawel Konieczny, head of regulatory and improvement, vice chairman at R.Energy Group, stated “there is no such thing as a equal therapy relating to applied sciences” and even steered companies with a number of vegetation could possibly be at larger threat of curtailment as it might imply fewer telephone requires the electrical energy system operator.
Magdalena Porzezynska, associate at Brysiewicz, Bokina i Wspólnicy, and an assistant professor at College of Warsaw, additionally questioned the authorized robustness of Poland’s curtailment rules, describing a 2023 modification to the principles governing market and non-market redispatching as “doomed to fail.” Porzezynska argued curtailment guidelines have been coated by EU legislation and the best way that they had been transposed into nationwide laws may lead to punitive motion from the European Fee. “We should always amend rules as quickly as attainable or write the legislation anew,” she stated.
Versatile method
When curtailment was mentioned, flexibility was by no means far-off. A panel dialogue of the function PV and vitality storage may play in creating a extra versatile energy system noticed audio system share views on how the TSO and distribution system operators (DSOs) may facilitate renewables and battery vitality storage offering extra grid balancing and ancillary companies. New grid connection steerage scheduled for launch in summer time 2024 was highlighted as an essential milestone forward, whereas the necessity to transfer away from Poland’s traditionally centralized method to balancing the community was additionally referred to as for by panelists.
“Let’s go right down to the distribution degree with flexibility, that is the core of the difficulty,” stated Zdzislaw Muras, a authorized professional at Poland’s Vitality Regulatory Workplace.
Creating extra flexibility at distribution community degree was additionally referred to as for by Szymon Witoszek, vice chairman of the board on the Polish Photovoltaics Affiliation. Witoszek argued for the introduction of an aggregator that might enable photo voltaic farms and different turbines higher entry to flexibility markets.
Grid connections have been on the agenda too, with the DSOs coming beneath fireplace for what builders understand as poor suggestions on rejections. Marta Glod, head of improvement at OX2 Poland stated that not solely do DSO responses to functions take far longer than the utmost timelines specified by laws – they supply inadequate knowledge once they lastly do flip up.
“It’s a big drawback,” she stated. “How can builders plan? It’s bettering with some DSOs however I want we may reside to see [DSOs respond] ‘no, we don’t have that capability however in case you add storage that might make issues higher’.”
Higher regulation
One space the place Poland has proven progress is round cable pooling, the apply of permitting a number of turbines to share a grid connection. New rules got here into drive in October 2023 however right here, too, business has issues. Witoszek informed pv journal the TSO’s bureaucratic course of is extreme, asking turbines to offer knowledge right down to the extent of which fashions of module are used on web site. It’s a course of ripe for streamlining in line with the Polish Photovoltaics Affiliation VP, and he argued a lighter contact on the regulatory entrance may unlock extra renewables potential.
There’s additionally room for regulatory enchancment on direct strains, stated Karol Lasocki, head of renewables at authorized and enterprise service supplier DWF Poland. Direct strains enable era belongings to attach on to offtakers, bypassing the grid. Lasocki argued that the best way direct line guidelines have been launched in Poland has incurred important value for traders within the form of distribution charges, capability charges, permits and registration charges. “We should always rethink how our legislation is developed in relation to direct line,” he stated, including “when somebody chooses a direct line, a service past the ability system, they need to not incur such important prices.”
Mariusz Filipek, plenipotentiary for deregulation and financial dialogue on the Ministry of Improvement and Expertise, stated it was the federal government’s mission to decontrol and simplify rules. In April, the ministry revealed a draft legislation for an preliminary package deal of deregulation measures, however a second batch is within the pipeline, in line with Filipek. The federal government consultant stated he would love the second deregulation package deal to sort out vitality clusters, a sort of vitality neighborhood within the Polish market. Nationwide rules for vitality clusters have been adopted in 2016 however have been criticized for his or her complexity. When important components of an vitality cluster are managed by municipalities, public procurement legislation could also be utilized. It is a scenario which Filipek stated should be rectified. “Public procurement legislation shouldn’t be utilized to vitality clusters,” he stated.
Roughly 1,000 friends attended the 2024 version of Kongres PV, in line with occasion organizers.
This content material is protected by copyright and might not be reused. If you wish to cooperate with us and wish to reuse a few of our content material, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
