The hydropower sector in Poland: Barriers and the outlook for the future

Poland has a considerable, but largely unused, hydropower potential. This state of affairs is mainly due to the environmental, social, economic and institutional barriers. Moreover, the consequences of climate change, which have been increasingly palpable over the last few years, result in more and more severe droughts, which also affect the economic efficiency of hydropower investments. The current situation and the development prospects for the hydropower sector in Poland are strongly influenced by both national and European law. They make it necessary to achieve a better water status and to increase the share of renewable sources in energy production. Incoherences leading to conflict situations stem from the fact that the Water Framework Directive objectives were defined in 2000, while the objectives of the EU energy policy were reformulated in 2018. With the current situation in mind, we should first analyse the possibility of attenuating some of the environmental laws, which have a significant impact on the feasibility of new hydropower investments. From the point of view of new investments in Poland, in order to limit the consequences of droughts (construction of retention reservoirs), hydropower facilities will be a significant support. Of great importance for the development of hydropower will be the use of the potential of the existing hydraulic structures for both retention and energy production. Thanks to their flexibility and storage capabilities, the hydropower installations will facilitate integration of other RES and will continue to play an important role in the energy transformation in Poland.