Polish wind turbines set a record for energy generation in the country when they produced 5.7 gigawatts per hour (GWh) on Monday, according to a report by the state-owned transmission system operator of Polish Power Grids (PSE). A day earlier, another record was set for the average hourly production, as PSE data showed that on Sunday, Dec. 6, at 6:00 p.m., average wind turbine production amounted to nearly 5.68 GWh.
The Polish Wind Energy Association (PSEW) estimated that only on last Monday, Polish wind farms generated a total of 113.4 GWh of electricity, which accounted for almost 22 percent of the daily net production in the country. This gave wind turbines second place in terms of types of generation sources, behind coal — with a share of nearly 44 percent — and just ahead of lignite power plants (18 percent).
The record set on Dec. 7 placed Poland third in Europe in terms of volume of wind energy production, just behind Spain and Germany. However, Poland’s position pales a bit when looking at the share of wind in the country’s energy ‘mix”, said Janusz Gajowiecki, president of PSEW.
“In this category, the Danes, Portuguese and Spaniards are ahead of us. Poland was in 8th place based on this category on Monday,” he added. The record set on December 7 placed Poland third in Europe in terms of volume of wind energy production, just behind Spain and Germany. However, such a high level of production can be attained only with very strong winds, Nevertheless, wind energy is increasingly important in Poland’s energy mix.
In October, it accounted for 9 percent of generated energy with wind farm productivity up 12 percent on October 2019. The potential for wind energy on land in Poland amounts to 22 to 24 GWh. Production at such a scale is estimated to be worth 42,000 jobs in the sector.
Experts feel Poland could be further along on the road to wind power had it not been for legislation in 2016 that limited where turbines could be placed.
The industry is still awaiting legislation that will relax these limitations. Polish energy company PGE admitted recently that the legal constraints have limited its investment in construction of individual wind turbines and has preferred to invest by acquiring existing wind farms.
