While many Eastern Europe countries have embraced feed-in tariffs (FiTs) for renewable energy, Poland has been a holdout.
That stance is about to change with the country preparing to add FiTs for wind, solar, geothermal, small hydro, biogas, biomass, wave and tidal power possibly by early 2013, reports RenewableEnergyWorld.
The proposed tariffs range from $0.138 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for power from sewage treatment gas to $0.214 for small hydro or biogas.
Poland's target is 15% renewables by 2020. It still relies on coal for about 90% of its power and has been using a system of Tradable Green Certificates to inspire investments.
Other elements of Poland's renewable energy plan include expedited interconnections for microgenerators and an excise tax exemption on electricity generation.
Poland's renewable energy strategy has been controversial, since much of what is classified as renewable actually comes from the practice of co-firing biomass at coal power plants. That has been the underpinning for the country's certificate program, and demand has actually exhausted domestic capacity. The proposed changes to Poland's renewable energy policy would limit co-firing contracts to five years.
Wind capacity in Poland is estimated at 2,000 megawatts (MW), accounting for less than 2% of the electricity.
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