Solar Curtail is increasing in Poland, with approximately 600 GWh of PV capacity reduced during the first six months of 2025. The Warsaw-based Institute for Renewable Energy (IEO) suggests that a solution is to support the electrification of Poland’s heating sector with the Surplus of PV capacity.
The Institute for Renewable Energy’s (IEO) Photovoltaic market in Poland 2025 Emphasizes the growth in the limitation of photovoltaic in Poland. During the first six months of 2025, the transmission system operator (TSO) reduced approximately 600 GWh of PV capacity. Compared to the first six months of 2024, this means an increase of almost 34%. This is a clear signal that the scale of the problem is not only permanent, but can soon double if systemic mechanisms for absorbing excess energy cannot be introduced.
The newest annual report of IEO shows the multi-titful subtitles ‘photovoltaïschens in the electricity and heat market’, with the aim of pointing out the urgent need to combine the development of the PV and heating sectors as a flexible consumer of solar energy. The growing importance of green electrification – especially in the heating and industrial sectors – is undoubtedly a chance for the entire sector. The use of both PV and wind energy for power electrode boilers (system heat) and heat pumps (heating), as well as storing in heat storage systems or industrial products (increased production with low energy prices during PV generation peaks) can significantly increase solar energy and system balancing.
The first opportunity to tackle this topic was in the IEO roadmap for the Heat storage mark report, founded in collaboration with the Polish Chamber of Energie storage in 2024. The subject attracted the attention of the Poles Minister of Environment, the Polish Power Grid Company and leading district heating. The issue of promoting heat storage that is able to absorb energy from renewable energy sources in Poland has also been reported for several years by the Economic Chamber of Polish Heat Engineering. The subject is recorded from a slightly different perspective by the Polish Chamber of Commerce (Committee for Energy and Climate Policy). But it was only recently the subject of the interest of weather-dependent energy generators for renewable energy.
The most important discussions about the form of green electrification of the heating industry are currently taking place in the Ministry of Climate and the Environment team for the transformation of the heating industry, which works on the implementation of the concept of green electrification in Polish law. Results of the work of the team must be introduced in Poland’s National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) and the document ‘Strategy for the transformation of the heating industry until 2040’, which regards the (green) electrification of the heating industry as an important pillar of the ‘strategy’ and an element of sector in the NECP.
Zoals IEO heeft gemeld, volgt de geïnstalleerde capaciteit van elektrische bronnen om te werken voor groene elektrificatie na 2025 de geplande capaciteit van niet-prosumeur fotovoltaïsche bronnen, tot 23,4 GW in 2035 en 45 GW in 2040. Het niveau van districtsverwarmingselektrificatie wordt verwacht van 23% in 2025, tot 46% tot 46% tot 46% tot 46% tot 46% tot 46% in 2030 and up to 82% in 2040.
The EU Clean Industrial Deal of Jul. 2, 2025, set two measurable goals. Firstly, the EU27 would add an annual increase of 100 GW in renewable energy capacity by 2030 (between 2023 and 2024, 68 GW and 70 GW of total wind and solar capacity respectively, or an average of 98.4% of all new renewable capacity) and second, an increase in electrification). As part of this ‘Pact’, the European Commission has promised to develop a detailed electrification action plan (by the first quarter of 2026) and a heating and cooling strategy (also by the first quarter of 2026), which will further support the goals of renewable energy-based electrification, sector integration and raised flexibility.
Full use of the available generation on hours with low energy prices is the key to further transforming the heating and power industry and providing security for investors in renewable energy sources. In 2024 there were 4,496 hours where the price for the heat of district heating systems (capacity 55 GW) was approximately PLN 430 ($ 117.14)/MWH, higher than the price of electricity, which had an average energy marker geply price of PLN 414/MWh. This confirms the enormous possibilities for cooperation between the renewable energy sector and the heating industry.
Until now, the biggest problem in sector coupling, green electrification and development of electricity purchase agreements between weather -dependent renewable current generators and flexible heat companies is the high costs of electricity distribution. To activate power-to-heating technology and limit renewable restrictions, IEO proposes a regulation with a partial exemption from distribution and grid costs within the hours indicated by TSO as “energy surplus” in the schedule (up to 20% of the hours in one year). According to the Regulation, an entity that is authorized to buy surplus electricity can be able to take advantage of reduced distribution costs, including not delivering a wealth costs, a fixed fee and a cogeneneration costs. This would make this type of energy considerably more attractive during “surplus hours” of renewable energy that is otherwise subject to limit.
Author: Grzegorz Wisniewski
Wisniewski is the founder and director of Polen’s Institute for Renewable Energy (Instytut EnergyKi Odnawialnej – IEO).
The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author, and do not necessarily reflect it by PV -Magazine.
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