Enea supports the development of RES in north-western Poland
Each month the number and capacity of renewable energy sources connected to the Enea Operator network is growing. Currently, more than 158,000 sources with a capacity exceeding 4.7 GW are connected to the company’s grid. In 2022, Enea added almost 42,000 renewable installations with a capacity of more than 1.1 GW. This is one way how Enea is contributing to building Poland’s energy security.
The dynamics of connecting renewable energy sources in Poland to the grid is gaining even faster momentum. Enea Operator is modernizing its distribution network in north-western Poland to make it more state-of-the-art and ensure it is capable of handling new renewable capacities. Enea Operator has now issued conditions for connecting more than 6.7 GW in new renewable energy to the network. These opportunities continue to grow with almost every new investment by the energy company.
„Enea group is successfully building a modern power grid, which is one of the most important elements of Poland’s energy transformation. Our investments are aimed at increasing the potential of the grid to connect new renewable sources, so that more and more electricity used by customers comes from local RES, including from prosumers. To make this possible, we are building new main power points and modernizing kilometers of the network. But that’s not all. Today, systems and devices for managing the flow of electricity are just as important to meet our most important task – to guarantee customers a safe and stable supply. All this is strengthening Poland’s energy security,” said Paweł Majewski, President of the Enea Management Board.
In the coming months Enea Operator will complete several significant projects that, in addition to improving energy security – which is a strong priority – will also increase the capacity of the network to accept new renewable sources. This is possible thanks to consistent network development plans, on which the company spends more than PLN 1 billion a year. In 2022, it was more than PLN 1.4 billion. In the current plan for 2023, PLN 400 million more (PLN 1.8 billion) is allocated for investments. Importantly, Enea Operator is the most effective distribution operator in terms of obtaining external funds for investments, thanks to which the company can implement even more projects.
„4.7 GW of capacity connected to our renewable energy network is already more than the peak power demand in the area of Enea Operator. Last year, the maximum demand was about 3.5 GW. At the same time, 24.7% of the energy delivered to customers by Enea Operator in 2022 was energy produced from renewable energy sources. The capacity of the so-called green sources in north-western Poland will continue to grow dynamically,” said Marcin Gawroński, President of Enea Operator.
It is impossible to up the capacity of distribution networks so that they can handle new renewables without developing the grid, which entails paying for its expansion. It is also necessary to upgrade it, so that it is ready to transmit power both ways, and not just from conventional power generations sources to final off-takers.
„The capacities connected today are the result of years and billions of golden investments not only in the network infrastructure itself, but also in network management systems and in devices for monitoring and analyzing it. This transformation has been going on for several years, although we still have many challenges ahead of us,” the CEO Marcin Gawroński added.
Enea Group / Jacek Perzyński
Tauron will spend PLN 3 billion on developing power grid
Tauron plans to increase investment in electricity networks to PLN 3 billion in 2024. This is a threefold increase compared to 2010. These funds will be used to connect new customers, including renewables, modernize and reconstruct the grid.
Tauron has invested PLN 16 billion in distribution networks over the past eight years. The completed projects, which consist of almost 60,000 investment tasks per year, allow the development of the network at all voltage levels and throughout the entire area of the Group’s operations.
„Since 2016, we have invested PLN 16 billion in electricity networks. Distribution is our most important investment direction, and the planned significant increase in expenditures is a response to the growing needs for connecting new customers and new energy sources to the network,” explains Paweł Szczeszek, president of the Tauron Group.
„Without the reconstruction of the grid, no matter how much energy we produce from RES, the electricity system will not function efficiently. The success of the energy transition is therefore conditioned by the development and modernization of distribution networks in the direction of the so-called smart networks. In this context, the ideas regarding the separation of distribution companies from energy groups have no business justification, they are even very dangerous from the point of view of the country’s energy security,” Szczeszek said.
An increase in investment to PLN 3 billion will increase the possibility of connecting new customers to about 50,000. In recent years, on average, the company has connected about 40,000 new customers to its grid a year. Since 2016, the number of customers of Tauron Dystrybucja has increased by 360 thousand.
The increased funds will also translate into the modernization of 1,220 kilometers of power lines, the expansion of 345 transformer stations, as well as the installation of 600,000 smart meters.
In total, Tauron’s grid has had 700 large installations as well as 400 thousand microinstallations with a total capacity of 3 GW. In 2016, 5,000 Micro-installations and 360 large-scale renewable energy installations operated in Tauron’s networks.
Tauron Group / Jacek Perzyński
Amendments to the Act on Investments in Agricultural Biogas Plants at the Senate
The Senate introduced amendments to the Act on Facilitating the Preparation and Implementation of Investments in Agricultural Biogas Plants, which simplifies the investment process and makes it easier to use the local substrate.
The Act provides for the introduction of facilitation in the investment process, in the course of proceedings for the issuance of a decision on the conditions of construction and proceedings for the issuance of a decision on a building permit for agricultural biogas plants, as well as the issuance of conditions for connecting an agricultural biogas plant to the network.
Limits have been adopted on the total installed electrical capacity of a maximum of 3,5 MW, or on the combined heat and power of not more than 10,5 MW, or on the annual production capacity of agricultural biogas of not more than 14 million m3 or on the annual production capacity of agricultural biogas of not more than 8,4 million m3.
The bill also facilitates the use of the local potential of the substrate by indicating that the substrates specified in the draft executive regulation will not be treated as waste.
In turn, it will be possible to place the post-fermentation product on the market as a post-fermentation product without having to obtain the permission of the minister responsible for agriculture, which in turn will allow producers to dispose of or develop them without having to obtain a specific administrative decision.
According to the assumptions, the adoption of regulations on agricultural biogas plants can give impetus to the development at the national and regional suppliers and sub-suppliers of services and components (so-called local content) in the life cycle of the installation-both at the stage of investment implementation and its operation.
Isbnews / Jacek Perzyński