Polish Cabinet approves liberalisation in wind farm regulations

Polish authorities approved on Friday a draft law that eases the rules for building onshore wind farms. This is a major step towards delivering on a promise made at 2023's election to increase power production using renewable energy sources.

The new rules must be approved by the parliament. They reduce the distance between planned installations, and residential areas, but keep permitting restrictions for projects near national parks and natural protected areas.

The draft law for onshore wind farms has been adopted by the Council of Ministers, according to Climate Minister Paulina Henne-Kloska, who posted on social media platform X.

The Law and Justice Party government, which ruled for eight years, blocked onshore wind development. However, renewable energy has grown at the expense coal-fired electricity.

By 2024, almost 30% of Polish power will be generated by renewable sources.

According to the Polish Wind Energy Association, the liberalisation of the wind permits rules could lead to an installation of about 41 gigawatts onshore wind power by 2040. Currently, the country has installed nearly 11 gigawatts. (Reporting by Marek Strzelecki. Mark Potter (Editing)

(source: Reuters)