Sector body says remedies to law will block onshore wind in Poland

The Polish Wind Energy Association (PWEA) said that an amendment aimed to liberalise the law on wind turbines will further block the development of onshore wind energy in Poland if it envisages a 700-metre distance between turbines and residential homes.

Revising the current, so called 10H Act, is one of the 37 milestones that Poland needs to complete under the Recovery and Resilience Facility to unlock funds from the National Recovery Plan. According to the acting rules, wind farms are required to maintain a distance of 10 times the height of a turbine from residential buildings.

The statement of the sector association on Thursday was prompted by the decision of the parliamentary committee on energy to increase to 700 metres the minimum distance of 500 metres for residential buildings if a number of conditions are met.

The 500-metre amendment to the 10H rule was widely consulted and approved by the central government, the local authorities and the sector, the association said in a statement. Increasing the distance means a significant reduction in investment opportunities and further dependence on fuel imports, PWEA president Janusz Gajowiecki pointed out.

PWEA analysis shows that the liberalisation to 500 metres compared with the 700-metre revision allows for a more than 25-fold increase in the availability of land for wind investments, that is to 7.08% of Poland's area from the current 0.28%. The latest amendment adopted by the committee reduces the possible installed capacity by some 60% to 70%.

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