Poland Sets November Auction Dates as Solar Tightens Its Grip on Renewable Contracts

Poland’s energy regulator URE has scheduled its next renewable energy auction for November 9–10, running separate sessions for solar and onshore wind projects in two capacity bands: installations up to and including 1 MW, and those exceeding that threshold. Only newly built facilities may participate; bids are admitted through the IPA platform and then judged solely on the price offered.

The full 2026 auction calendar carries a combined budget of approximately 24.9 billion zlotys (around $6.34 billion), targeting more than 76 TWh of clean electricity. Yet the broader industry question looming over these rounds is whether developers still need state-backed contracts at all — a growing share of projects are now heading toward corporate power purchase agreements and open-market sales instead.

Recent auction history underscores solar’s commanding position in Poland. In 2025, solar claimed 178 of 181 winning bids — representing roughly 1.67 GW in contracted capacity — at prices between 216.90 and 374.77 zlotys per MWh, while onshore wind secured just 82.7 MW. In 2024, solar swept 198 of 200 contracts; wind received two awards totalling 90.8 MW.

Poland’s government had planned to support up to 9 GW of solar and 3 GW of wind capacity by 2027. On the capacity side, ARE figures show 3.6 GW of newly commissioned solar capacity added in 2025 — below the 4 GW recorded the previous year — bringing cumulative solar to 24.8 GW. Grid operator PSE puts the total higher at 25.5 GW; IEO director Grzegorz Wiśniewski told pv magazine the gap reflects December parks that PSE counted immediately while ARE will register them in 2026.

Source: PV Magazine