24-07-2014
Polish region an unexpected champion of green energy citizen projects
As member states continue to negotiate spending plans for the next EU Cohesion Policy funds 2014-2020 with the European Commission, the Polish north-eastern region of Podlaskie proves an unexpected champion of green citizen energy revolution in Poland.
In the draft Operational Programme outlining spending plans presented to the Commission, Podlaskie’s regional authorities declare their intention to support “an energy revolution, which will result not only in the increased share of renewables in the energy consumption mix, but also make the local citizens and entrepreneurs the owners of the decentralised energy sources”.
Recognising that efficiency, diversification and local production are key to both ensure long-term energy security and meet the EU’s 2020 climate targets, Podlaskie sees the solution in supporting the creation of a locally owned, decentralised energy system, which would utilise indigenous renewable resources and stimulate local development.
With more than 80 billion euros of available funding, Poland will be the biggest beneficiary of European funds under Cohesion Policy for the 2014-2020 period. Reflecting the European Commission’s push for greener spending of the EU Budget, approximately 9 billion euros of these will be dedicated to financing low-carbon development, including renewable energy and energy efficiency measures.
Podlaskie stands out as a champion of citizen energy revolution in Poland, but there are also other regions – notably Małopolskie and Podkarpackie – who have expressed their intention to prioritise the support to the development of small, decentralised renewable energy installations. This is particularly important, because it is on the regional and local level where much of this greener spending will happen, and where the EU money can be used to effectively support the development of green energy communities in Poland.
Drafted in Warsaw, the national spending plans focus mostly on big-scale, country-wide investment projects. With around 40% of all Cohesion Policy funds for Poland to be distributed directly by Poland’s sixteen regions, it is the Polish local governments who will decide where the money goes, and who can play a major role in shifting local development on a more sustainable path.
The 16 Polish Regional Operational Programmes (ROPs), submitted by the regional authorities to the Commission, outline funding priorities and will guide the investments on regional and local level for the next seven years. But some Polish regions understand the transformative potential of the new EU budget better than others. Consequently, the resources assigned for low-carbon growth vary across regions, with some planning to spend 25-30% of funding available from the European Fund for Regional Development (one of the Cohesion Policy funds), and others keeping it close to the minimum 15%.
With 180 million euros allocated to low-carbon development and 60 million euros earmarked for investments in renewables, compared to approximately 20 million euros invested in RES and EE in the previous 2007-2013 EU budget, Podlaskie’s local government has the means to support their forward-thinking declarations.
This is crucial, because in the continued absence of national laws effectively regulating the renewables sector in Poland and recognising local, decentralised energy production, this kind of priority support for “prosumers” (producers and consumers of energy, owners of RES micro installations, producing energy to cover own needs and selling the excess to the grid) could be key to stimulating the shift towards citizens’ power in Poland.
As Polish regions prepare to release the by-law documents - the so called “Detailed description of priorities”, which will include project selection criteria and detailed allocations by investment priorities, it is vital they include provisions allowing communities, cooperatives and individuals to become beneficiaries of low-carbon energy-related funding. Following Podlaskie’s example, priority should be given to the smallest RES investment projects, aiming to use the European money to bring about a new local and regional energy system, one where the local people are the owners, and the consumers, of green energy.
Source: CEE Bankwatch Network, Poland
