PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna is launching more photovoltaic (PV) farms and says it will have PV power plants with a total capacity of about 500 MW in operation or under construction by the end of 2023.
In recent weeks, PGE Energia Odnawialna, part of the PGE Group, has launched PV farms in the Mazowieckie, Podkarpackie and Podlaskie provinces.
The energy concern is not slowing down investments in wind farms either. In Mazovia, PGE Energia Odnawialna has launched two PV farms – Huszlew and Huszlew 2 – with a total capacity of 13 MW. The installations consist of about 23,000 monocrystalline panels. They were built on a plot of nearly 18 hectares and will be able to produce, according to estimates, more than 13 GWh per year. There is also a possibility of expanding the farm with energy storage facilities.
“The establishment of new photovoltaic power plants in Mazovia is an important step towards the execution of our plans to build generation capacity from renewable energy sources. The PGE Group is the leader of the energy transition in Poland. This is possible thanks to our consistent investments in renewable energy sources obtaining energy from the sun, wind and water,” said Marcin Karlikowski, CEO of PGE Energia Odnawialna.
The farm uses bifacial modules, which can produce electricity regardless of the weather, even at low light levels, under conditions typical of the climatic zones found in Poland. This is currently the most efficient and effective technology.
Recently, PGE completed in Podkarpacie the construction of the first stage of one of the largest photovoltaic farms in Poland – PV Jeziórko. An installation with a capacity of more than 50 MW was built on plots of land of about 50 hectares. The photovoltaic farm consists of nearly 100,000 modern monocrystalline solar panels of more than 500 watts each. The panels installed on the farm are bifacial, similar to similar investments made by the PGE Group.
“The first phase of the investment will make it possible to supply nearly 24,000 households with electricity. Next year, we will expand this power plant to an installed capacity of 100 MW, and eventually it will reach a capacity of nearly 220 MW and provide green energy supply to about 125,000 households,” said Wojciech Dąbrowski, CEO of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna.
Green energy also flowed to nearly 7,000 households in Podlasie in 2H2023. In September, PGE Energia Odnawialna completed construction work on two PV farms – Gutki and Gutki 2 – with a total capacity of 12 MW.
The installations consist of about 22,000 monocrystalline panels. They were built on a plot of 15.7 hectares. The panels installed on PGE’s new farms, with a total capacity of 12 MW, will be able to produce more than 14 GWh per year, according to estimates.
The construction of the Gutki and Gutki 2 photovoltaic farms is being carried out under the Infrastructure and Environment Operational Program 2014-2020. Each of the farms received PLN 13.9 million in preferential loans from the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, which helped finance more than 60% of the investment value. The loans will be repaid over 15 years, with the possibility of amortizing 20% of the value.
In total, by the end of 2023, the PGE Group will have PV power plants with a total capacity of about 500 MW in operation or under construction. In subsequent years, this process will continue. The company already has about 3,000 hectares of land secured for investment purposes, where solar farms with a total capacity of more than 2 GW could be built.
In addition to investments in PV farms, the PGE Group continues to invest in wind farms. In September, PGE Energia Odnawialna bought a modern wind farm in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship with a capacity of nearly 25 MW. The new investment can supply clean energy to nearly 38,000 households and will reduce CO2 emissions by more than 61,000 tons per year.
“We are consistently expanding our portfolio of zero-emission sources, not only by making our own investments, but also through acquisitions of prospective assets. The acquisition of the Zalesie Wind Farm, which was launched on September 1 of this year, is part of these activities. Following this transaction, we have increased our onshore wind power installed capacity to nearly 800 MW and consolidated our position as a leader in renewable energy in Poland,” said Karlikowski.
The power plant is located in the Warmińsko-Mazurskie Voivodeship in the municipality of Płośnica in the Działdów district. It consists of seven turbines with a capacity of 3.55 MW each.
After this transaction, the PGE Group has wind power plants with a total capacity of nearly 800 MW in its portfolio. These capacities will be increased in the coming years – PGE Energia Odnawialna plans to eventually reach 1.5 GW of installed generation capacity.
A member of the PGE Capital Group, PGE Energia Odnawialna is currently the largest producer of green energy in Poland. It has 21 wind farms, 29 hydroelectric power plants, four pumped storage power plants and 31 photovoltaic farms. The total installed capacity of all facilities is about 2,530 MW.
