Solar curtailment on the rise in Poland

Curtailment of renewable energy in Poland rose 36% in the first five months of 2025, threatening the financial viability of solar plants as operators face long delays and reduced compensation for lost output.

Poland is increasing the rate at which it limits the amount of energy produced by PV plants due to curtailment measures, according to new figures.

Curtailment is done in Poland at the request of the country’s electricity transmission system operator, PSE. It is often implemented to balance energy supply and demand.

Figures from renewable energy market platform Gramwzielone.pl show that curtailment in Poland reached nearly 590 GWh in the first five months of 2025, marking a 36% increase compared to the same period in 2024.

It covered 731 GWh of renewable energy in Poland in 2024, of which 597 GWh was for solar plants. Figures from Polish think tank Forum Energi also show that curtailment of renewables took place across 24 days in June 2025.

Piotr Pająk, a PV analyst for Gramwzielone.pl, told pv magazine that the curtailment ordered by PSE has only involved larger PV systems connected to medium- and high-voltage networks thus far.

“The disconnections of domestic installations are the result of voltage exceedances in the local network, rather than decisions made by operators,” he added, referring to the possibility that curtailment could also be applied to residential and commercial users.

Some solar plant operators have warned that re-dispatching is making their sites financially unviable, with Gramwzielone.pl reporting that some are at risk of bankruptcy.

Pająk said that a compensation claim is available, with the operators of disconnected power plants required to submit applications to PSE for compensation payments. But he added that applications are often processed very slowly, with PSE yet to process all of last year’s applications.

“The compensation paid can be very low,” Pająk said. “Based on energy prices, which, during periods of high PV generation, fall in Poland to very low or even negative levels.”

Poland added 4 GW of solar in 2024, bringing its cumulative installed capacity to nearly 21 GW.