President of the Republic of Poland Karol Nawrocki will not accept a bill linking the liberalization of wind farm regulations with the freezing of electricity prices. “This solution will certainly not gain the president’s approval. Talks are currently underway at the president’s office, and we will soon present our proposal,” said today the spokesperson for the President of the Republic of Poland, Rafał Leśkiewicz.
On Monday, in the PAP Studio, the president’s spokesperson was asked whether the president would sign the so-called wind farm bill, which, apart from liberalizing rules for investments in onshore wind turbines, also freezes electricity prices for households until the end of this year.
Leśkiewicz replied that the latter element is, for Nawrocki, “an obvious matter”, but including it in a bill concerning wind farms, in his view, puts the president in “an awkward situation”.
“This solution will certainly not gain the president’s approval. Talks are currently underway at the president’s office, and we will soon present our proposal,” he announced.
When asked whether this meant a presidential legislative initiative related to his election promise “33% less for electricity in 100 days”, Leśkiewicz assured that the president would fulfill this promise.
“President Karol Nawrocki will certainly present a solution that will allow for freezing electricity prices, and we will see how the Polish government reacts,” he said.
Last week, Minister of Energy Miłosz Motyka appealed to President Karol Nawrocki to sign the amendment to the so-called wind farm bill. In his opinion, it is a well-prepared regulation guaranteeing low energy prices.
The main goal of the so-called wind farm bill is the liberalization of existing rules for onshore wind farm investments. The amendment removes the 10H rule introduced in 2016 and sets 500 meters as the minimum allowable distance of new wind turbines from residential buildings. At present, this distance is 700 meters. In addition to regulations concerning the construction of wind turbines, the bill also contains a provision – introduced during parliamentary work – extending the freeze on electricity prices for households at the level of PLN 500 per MWh (net) until the fourth quarter of 2025. Currently, the freeze is in effect until the end of September.