Following Poland's launch of a storage investment support plan with a total budget of more than 4 billion zlotys (about 1 billion U.S. dollars) some time ago, Poland's state-owned power generation group PGE has made another big move, announcing an investment of about 18 billion zlotys (about 4.7 billion U.S. dollars) to increase its investment in energy storage. This strategic investment will significantly improve the stability of Poland's energy system. According to the plan, by 2035, PGE will achieve a capacity expansion of 10GWh through the construction of new energy storage facilities. By then, the group's total energy storage capacity will reach 17GWh, which is equivalent to meeting the 24-hour electricity needs of 2.5 million households. This ultra-large-scale investment plan provides necessary support for Poland's energy transformation and will comprehensively improve the balance and operating efficiency of the power system.
As a leader in Poland's energy storage sector, PGE Group currently maintains a 90% market share in the pumped storage market (current capacity is about 7GWh), while actively developing new battery energy storage tracks. The total capacity of the six large-scale energy storage projects currently underway exceeds 4GWh.
The most representative energy storage project is undoubtedly the Zarnowiec Energy Storage Power Station, which has a specification of 262MW/981MWh. The energy storage system is supplied by LG Energy Solution, which cooperates with local companies to provide a turnkey solution consisting of energy storage systems and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC). It is expected to be put into operation in 2027. After completion, it will become the largest energy storage power station in Poland and one of the largest energy storage projects in Europe. It is worth noting that the batteries in the energy storage system are produced by LG's factory in Poland. Compared with the project's nameplate capacity of 900MWh, LG has over-allocated 9%, bringing the project capacity to 981MWh.
The strategic value of this project is reflected in multiple dimensions: it not only provides stable support for Poland's power system, reduces price fluctuations in the energy market, but also ensures the stability of energy supply. It is worth noting that the project has obtained a capacity market contract in December last year and has received funding from the National Recovery Plan, which will be supervised by PGE Renewable Energy. It is worth noting that in December last year, battery energy storage won a huge victory in the capacity market (CM) auction for delivery in Poland in 2029. The potential 2.5GW battery energy storage project includes contracts from Axpo, OX2, R.Power, FRV and PGE. The capacity market (CM) has always been an important driving force for energy storage on the grid side in Poland. BYD Energy Storage's official announcement of two 4-hour energy storage projects in Poland totaling 1.6GWh also originated from the CM contract won by IPP Greenvolt in 2023.
In addition to the Zarnowiec project, PGE will also deploy large-scale energy storage power stations in Gryfino, Rybnik, Rogoviec and Krakow, and plans to build 75 distributed energy storage sites in Poland (with a total capacity of over 6GWh) to build a multi-level energy storage network.
Jakub Jaworowski, Minister of State Assets of Poland, commented: "As the proportion of renewable energy in Poland's national power system continues to increase, the demand for new services to ensure a stable and safe energy supply is growing. Energy storage facilities, as a key element of Poland's energy transformation, not only help achieve climate goals, but also help the economy get rid of its dependence on fossil fuel imports. The development of energy storage projects is a guarantee of Poland's energy security. The ambitious investment plan of the Polish Energy Group (PGE) will reduce the carbon emission intensity of the national economy, thereby enhancing its competitiveness in the European and global markets.
It is reported that PGE will comprehensively improve its renewable energy absorption capacity through the "centralized + distributed" coordinated development model. This innovative energy storage system layout can not only enhance the flexibility of the power grid, but also reduce the need for traditional power grid expansion, which will win Poland a first-mover advantage in the global energy transformation wave.