Poland is recording record-low electricity prices as the production of renewable energies grows.
Poland recorded record low electricity prices over the weekend due to the abundant supply from the growing number of solar panels and wind farms, demonstrating the challenges that intermittent sources pose for stabilising the country's grid.
Last year, solar and wind farms already accounted for 25% of Poland's electricity production.
The actual price development
Prices for day-ahead contracts for 22 March reached minus 429 zlotys (-111 US dollars) per megawatt hour at midday fixing, when production from renewable sources peaked in sunny and windy weather, according to data from the Polish Power Exchange. The price fell below the previous negative record level of last summer.
Poland saw negative electricity prices for the first time in June 2023. The boom in solar modules for households and businesses has increased the capacity of photovoltaic systems to almost 22 gigawatts at present. Together with 11 gigawatts of wind farms, renewable energy producers are competing with coal-fired power plants, which have to be kept running at night to supply electricity.
What to do about oversupply?
In order to avoid oversupply, the state grid operator Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne SA imposed a temporary production freeze for solar and wind power plants with a total capacity of over 2 gigawatts on Sunday (23 March 2025), thus falling back on special regulations that have already been applied several times this year. In 2024, such suspensions were most frequent in the summer.
Last year, solar and wind farms accounted for 25% of the country's electricity generation, compared to 21% in 2023, according to data from the grid operator.
The cabinet last week approved a draft decree easing restrictions on the construction of onshore wind farms to expand alternatives before most coal-fired power plants are shut down in the next decade. The government has also started to subsidise the purchase of electricity storage by households to ensure more flexibility in the grid.
Will the government's efforts bear fruit? - Power2market stays tuned for you.
