New perspectives for biomass and agricultural biogas in Poland
By 2020 the Polish energy sector has to fulfill EU obligations on achieving a 15 per cent share of renewable energy sources in the end-user energy balance, i.e. energy consumed by end-users. Until now the leader in renewable energy sources has been the wind farm sector, which in recent years has shown the highest growth dynamics. From now on it has been decided to place greater emphasis on developing smaller, diffused energy sources, including biomass and agricultural biogas. Both sources have been quite comprehensively regulated in the new Energy Law, which entered into force on 1 January 2011.
One facility for agricultural biogas producers is exemption from the need to obtain a concession for production and sale of energy, as required for renewable energy sources, regardless of installed power. Instead of a concession, business activity involving producing electrical energy from agricultural biogas and in producing agricultural biogas for introduction to the gas distribution network requires only an entry in the register of biogas producers maintained by the Agricultural Market Agency.
Indirect support for biogas plants has been introduced in the form of certificates of agricultural biogas origin (art. 9o of the act) issued by the Energy Regulatory Office, confirming agricultural production and introduction of biogas into the gas network. The new certificates - assigned the colour brown - are currently functioning together with green, red, yellow and violet certificates (certificates of origin of renewable energy sources and of high-efficiency cogeneration). The brown certificates may also be traded on the energy exchange market, similarly to the other certificates.
In order to guarantee availability of biogas, an obligation to buy agricultural biogas is imposed on distribution system operators (art. 9c clause 6a). Within the scope of its activities, a distribution system operator must accept supplies of agricultural biogas produced in plants connected directly to the operator's network and in line with the quality parameters set in regulations.
In the nearest future further legislative changes can be expected directed at simplifying and increasing the attractiveness of biogas investments. This is linked with implementation of the government program "Innovative Energy Sector - Agricultural Energy", which aims to create on average one biogas plant using biomass of agricultural origin in every municipality by 2020. The share of biomass and biogas plants in the renewable energy sources market is capable of significant growth. A major contributor is likely to be the recently started investment at the Elektrownia Połaniec S.A. power plant involving construction of the world's largest power unit fueled solely by biomass.
