There are 4,026 solar projects with a combined capacity in excess of 19 GW ready for implementation in Poland, according to the country’s IEO.

The institute’s latest solar database, accurate to November 2024, features projects with issued connection conditions, concluded connection agreements, or with building permits, allowing for inclusion in auctions.

Every tenth solar project applying for grid connection is tied to energy storage, IEO said, while every fourth large-scale solar project plans to build a battery storage facility. The total capacity of storage facilities tied to solar projects listed on the database equals 1.7 GW.

Of the 4,026 projects included in the database, 1,496 with a total capacity in excess of 3.3 GW have a recognized investor. Developers Qair Polska, R.Power, and Lightsource Renewable Energy Poland are listed as the investors with the largest portfolios.

The database features 1,495 projects with a total capacity over 12.3 GW that have been issued with building permits. A total of 483 projects have been issued with permits this year.

The IEO said these projects are prepared to enter Poland’s forthcoming renewables auction, set for December. Auctions will run separately for installations with capacity up to 1 MW and with capacity of more than 1 MW. Last year’s edition allocated 494 MW of solar across both channels.

“Comparing the volumes of energy ordered by the government in auctions and the potential volumes of energy supply and possible bids in the auction system in baskets above and below 1 MW, owners of small PV farms up to 1 MW have a good chance of winning,” said the IEO. “Large PV farms, as a rule, are more market-oriented and traditionally send a smaller percentage of energy to auctions, which reduces the potentially high competition in the so-called large auction basket, where theoretically there is the most potential capacity to offer.”

Poland added around 4.6 GW of solar in 2023, taking its cumulative installed capacity beyond 17 GW. The country’s sixth residential solar and storage rebate scheme is currently open.