Polish gov't to subsidize home energy storage in solar drive

The move is part of a long-term effort to promote photovoltaic micro-installations that has helped more than triple Poland's installed solar capacity since the start of 2020.

The new subsidies will be part of the fourth round of the government's My Electricity (Mój Prąd) program, which has already provided financing to homeowners to install solar panels with a capacity between 2 and 10 kW (kilowatt). Previous editions of the scheme have been so popular that the budgets ran out.

A draft law on renewable energy being prepared by the climate and environment ministry includes a requirement for prosumers (that is, households that produce energy as well as consuming it) to also store energy, reported business portal Money.pl.

The idea is that, rather than sending excess energy into the grid – which, especially with Poland's outdated infrastructure, leads to a sizeable share being lost along the way – the energy could be stored and used where it is generated. But storage equipment is not cheap, notes the website, costing between PLN 6,000 and 20,000 (EUR 1,300-4,400). To help small-scale producers, therefore, the government wants to subsidize the cost. Ireneusz Zyska, deputy energy minister responsible for renewable sources, said the subsidies are likely cover between 25% and 50% of costs.