Poland's hydropower: Current status and future prospects

The Renewable Energy Sources Act of 20 February 2015 changes the support for hydropower in Poland. The existing solution based on tradable renewable energy certificates will be replaced by energy auction schemes. The program promoting renewable energy sources will no longer include hydropower plants with capacity > 5MW. The RES Act also introduces restrictive mechanisms. Funding is temporary (for 15 years) and the total public aid will be calculated and limited. The solutions applied limit support for hydropower, and suspend the funding of large amortized hydropower plants. State support will now be targeted mainly at micro and small hydropower projects. In the paper an assessment of the changes to the economic efficiency of the Olawa and Chancza hydropower plants is presented for current and future conditions.