The EU has approved the Polish state aid scheme worth €1.2 billion to support local manufacturing
It will back the production of renewable energy equipment including solar panels and batteries
State support under the scheme will be provided till December 31, 2024 in the form of direct grants
The European Commission (EC) has given its stamp of approval to Poland’s €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion) state aid scheme that will support the manufacturing of renewable energy components in the country, including solar panels.
Approved under the State Aid Temporary Crisis and Transition Framework (TCTF), the scheme will be open as direct grants to companies producing relevant equipment including batteries, solar panels, wind turbines, heat pumps, electrolyzers, and equipment for carbon capture usage and storage.
It will also support local production of key components designed and primarily used as direct input for the production of such equipment or related critical raw materials necessary for their production.
According to the commission, this scheme will incentivize the production of relevant equipment to help transition towards a net-zero economy. It will be granted till December 31, 2025.
About the Polish scheme, the EU’s Executive Vice-President in charge of Competition Policy, Margrethe Vestager said, “This will help accelerate the transition to a net-zero economy, in line with the objectives of the Green Deal Industrial Plan and the EU’s climate neutrality target. At the same time, competition distortions remain limited.”
Under the draft National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) of Poland, the country aims to achieve a renewable energy share of 32.6% in the final energy consumption by 2030, comprising 56.1% in the power sector. By 2040, its renewable energy target is 58.4%. The target for solar PV installed capacity is 29 GW by 2030 and 46.2 GW by 2040.
As of the end of 2023, Poland’s total installed solar PV capacity exceeded 17 GW as per the IEO (see Poland’s Cumulative Installed Solar PV Capacity Exceeds 17 GW).
In March 2024, the Commission cleared a similar state aid scheme, worth €1.1 billion, for Italy to support renewable energy manufacturing in the country (see European Commission Clears Italy’s €1.1 Billion Scheme).