Polish employers appeal for amends to wind turbine distancing rule

Poland's Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers (ZPP) appealed on Tuesday to the Senate, the upper house of the Polish parliament, to revise the unfavourable for the sector rule of 700-metre distance between wind turbines and housing, passed by the lower house.

The lower house, the Sejm, was supposed to unblock wind investments in Poland by introducing a 500-metre setback distance, which was approved by two parliamentary committees, the central government, the local authorities and the sector. Instead, last week, the lawmakers voted for the 700-metre rule, pushed by the ruling PiS party.

The purpose of the amendment was to ease the 10H act for locating wind farms at a distance 10 times the height of the turbines. Revising the rule 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.

ZPP pointed out that based on analyses, increasing the distance from 500 metres to 700 metres will lead to a reduction in installed capacity by 60% to 85%. This will have a grave impact on Polish exports because by 2026 the goods will have to be produced using green energy, which can only be accomplished by developing onshore wind and solar energy.

"Ensuring the availability of green energy in the coming years will directly determine the degree of competitiveness of the Polish economy," ZPP stressed.

The bill has been sent for consideration to the Senate, which within 30 days may accept, amend or reject it. The Senate's resolution is deemed accepted when it is not overruled by an absolute majority in the Sejm in the presence of at least half of the deputies.

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