Certificate of Admission to Auction

Auctions for RES electricity sale are the most popular system of supporting renewable energies in Poland. Micro systems are an exception as they usually use prosumer settlement mechanisms.

The auctions encompass a vast majority of the technologies for energy production from renewable sources available in Poland, with solar energy and wind energy as the leading types. The auction system takes the form of a contract for difference, providing—over a period of 15 years from the date of the first sale of electricity following the auction win—the possibility to settle a negative or positive balance, representing the difference between the net value of energy calculated based on the TGeBase index and the value calculated based on the bid price of the given producer.

To join the auction, in the case of existing installations, the investor must first obtain an action eligibility certificate as a part of the pre-qualification process described in the chapter below.

At which stage of the investment process should the investor submit an application for an auction eligibility certificate?

Auctions are usually held for new systems, i.e. ones at the planning stage. The projects submitted for auctions are usually at the stage of: obtained grid connection conditions and final constriction permit. Auction participation does not require an energy production licence.

What must be included in an application for an auction eligibility certificate?

According to the RES Act, an application for an auction eligibility certificate should include:

first and last name and home address or business name and registered office address of the generator;
the location and installed capacity of the RES system;
signature of the generator or its authorised representative, with attached original or certified copy of the document confirming the authority of that person to act on behalf of the generator;
for a system using biomass, biogas, agricultural biogas or bioliquids to generate electricity – the following statement of the generator or its authorised representative:

“Aware of the criminal liability for false statements under Article 233(6) of the Polish Criminal Code of 6 June 1997, I hereby represent that:

The electricity in the RES system will not be produced using:

any wood other than energy wood and full-value grain in the case of:

renewable energy source systems – other than micro-systems and small systems – which produce electricity using a biogas other than agricultural biogas;
renewable energy source systems – other than micro-systems and small systems – which produce electricity using a biomass incinerated in a dedicated biomass incinerator;
multi-fuel incinerators, dedicated multi-fuel incinerators and hybrid systems which produce electricity using biomass, biogas or agricultural biogas;
waste incinerators;

wood other than energy wood in the case of multi-fuel incinerators, dedicated multi-fuel incinerators and hybrid systems which produce electricity using bioliquids;
fossil fuels or fuels obtained from their processing in the case of renewable energy source systems which produce electricity using biomass incinerated in a dedicated biomass incinerator;
biomass contaminated for the purpose of increasing its net calorific value – for dedicated biomass incinerators, hybrid RES systems, dedicated multi-fuel incinerators or a hybrid system which produce electricity using biomass, bioliquids, biogas or agricultural biogas;
substrates other than listed in Article 2(2) of the RES Act – for electricity production from agricultural biogas;
substrates other than listed in Article 2(4) of the RES Act – for electricity production from bioliquids;
bioliquids which fail to meet the sustainability criteria defined in Articles 28b through Article 28bc of the Polish Biocomponent and Liquid Biofuel Act;

The requirement that the share of biomass of agricultural origin in the total biomass defined in Article 60a(2) or in secondary legislation issued under Article 60a(3) of the RES Act will be complied with – for the RES systems referred to in Article 60a(2).”

Furthermore an application for an auction eligibility certificate should include the following appendices:

grid connection conditions or an agreement for the RES system connection to a transmission or distribution grid, the validity period of which, on the date of submission, must not be shorter than 6 months;
a final and binding construction permit issued for the planned RES system or for its modernisation (where required under the applicable construction law regulations); the validity period on the submission date cannot be shorter than 6 months;
the schedule of works & expenses for the construction or modernisation of the RES system or a statement on project completion;
a plan of the RES system which specifies the system devices used to generate electricity and the devices used to transfer the power, with marked location of measurement and settlement devices and marked grid connection point for that system – on a site map featuring the land plot and precinct numbers.

Who issues the auction eligibility certificate?

The certificate is issued by the President of the URE.

How many days does the President of the URE have to issue the auction eligibility certificate?

The President of the URE issues or denies an auction eligibility certificate within 30 days after the submission of the complete application for the certificate.

In what form does the President of the URE deny an auction eligibility certificate?

The President of the URE denies an auction eligibility certificate by way of a relevant decision.

Can a decision denying an auction eligibility certificate be challenged?

Yes, the decision can be challenged to the Warsaw Regional Court's Competition and Consumer Protection Court within 7 days of service of the decision.

How long is an auction eligibility certificate valid?

An auction eligibility certificate is valid for 12 months after the issue date. At the same time, the deadline may not exceed the validity period of the grid connection conditions or the connection agreement to the transmission or distribution network, or the legally binding construction permit.

How are the auctions managed by the President of the URE?

The President of URE publishes the auction announcement in the Public Information Bulletin of URE no later than 30 days before the auction date.

The auction notice includes:

auction reference;
date of the auction session;
opening and closing hours of the auction session;
the maximum quantity and value of electricity from renewable energy sources which can be sold at the auction, including the maximum quantity and value of the electricity from renewable energy source which can be sold at the auction by entities generating electricity from renewable energy sources in an RES system situated outside Poland and outside the Exclusive Economic Zone;
the types of the RES systems covered by the auction.

Auctions are held at least once a year. The prerequisites for joining the auction include an auction eligibility certificate and a bank guarantee or a bond posted to the bank account specified by the President of the URE, the value of the bond being PLN 60 per 1 kW of the installed capacity of the RES system participating in the auction.

How are auctions decided?

Auctions are decided based on the criterion of the lowest price offered for the electricity on sale. The maximum electricity selling price cannot exceed the reference price published in the Regulation of the Minister of Climate and Environment on the selling prices of electricity from renewable energy sources and on the time limits for generators who have won the auctions in a given year. Whenever several auction participants offer the same lowest selling price for electricity produced from renewable energy sources, electricity sale is awarded to the one who was the first to submit the bid.

An auction is decided if at least three valid bids have been submitted which meet statutory requirements. Importantly, bids submitted by a generator for the RES systems it owns cannot exceed in total 100% of the value or volume of electricity from renewable energy sources defined in the auction notice and 80% of the electricity covered by all the bids.

The details are defined in the auction terms and conditions provided by the URE.

What are auction baskets?

Renewable energy source technologies differ as to electricity production costs. This is why auctions are not held collectively within one session – this would result in a situation where support would be granted only to systems representing technologies with the lowest energy production price, which could limit the development of other RES types. As a result, auctions are held in sessions, inviting bids for systems which represent technologies that are similar in terms of the energy production cost – for a capacity of up to 1 MW and above 1 MW. So auction baskets are combinations of the RES system types with internal bidding.

We can currently identify the following auction baskets:

Auction Basket	RES system capacity threshold for a given auction basket (under Article 73(4) of the RES Act)	RES system type (under Article 77(5) of the RES Act)
1.	Up to 1 MW	- of a total installed electricity capacity below 500 kW, using exclusively biogas sourced from landfills to generate electricity; - of a total installed electricity capacity below 500 kW, using exclusively biogas sourced from landfills to generate electricity in high-efficiency cogeneration; - of a total installed electricity capacity below 500 kW, using exclusively biogas sourced from wastewater treatment plants to generate electricity; - of a total installed electricity capacity below 500 kW, using exclusively biogas sourced from wastewater treatment plants to generate electricity in high-efficiency cogeneration; - of a total installed electricity capacity below 500 kW, using exclusively biogas (other than agricultural biogas sourced from landfills and wastewater treatment plants) to generate electricity; - of a total installed electricity capacity below 500 kW, using exclusively biogas (other than agricultural biogas sourced from landfills and wastewater treatment plants) to generate electricity in high-efficiency cogeneration; - of a total installed electricity capacity of at least 500 kW, using exclusively biogas sourced from landfills to generate electricity; - of a total installed electricity capacity of at least 500 kW, using exclusively biogas sourced from landfills to generate electricity in high-efficiency cogeneration; - of a total installed electricity capacity of at least 500 kW, using exclusively biogas sourced from wastewater treatment plants to generate electricity; - of a total installed electricity capacity of at least 500 kW, using exclusively biogas sourced from wastewater treatment plants to generate electricity in high-efficiency cogeneration; - of a total installed electricity capacity of at least 500 kW, using exclusively biogas (other than agricultural biogas sourced from landfills and wastewater treatment plants) to generate electricity; - of a total installed electricity capacity of at least 500 kW, using exclusively biogas (other than agricultural biogas sourced from landfills and wastewater treatment plants) to generate electricity in high-efficiency cogeneration; - in a dedicated biomass incinerator or in hybrid systems; - in a thermal waste treatment plant or a dedicated multi-fuel incinerator; - of a total installed electricity capacity not higher than 50 MW, in a thermal waste treatment plant, in a dedicated biomass incinerator or hybrid systems, in high-efficiency cogeneration.
2.	Above 1 MW	- of a total installed electricity capacity of at least 500 kW, using exclusively biogas sourced from landfills to generate electricity; - of a total installed electricity capacity of at least 500 kW, using exclusively biogas sourced from landfills to generate electricity in high-efficiency cogeneration; - of a total installed electricity capacity of at least 500 kW, using exclusively biogas sourced from wastewater treatment plants to generate electricity; - of a total installed electricity capacity of at least 500 kW, using exclusively biogas sourced from wastewater treatment plants to generate electricity in high-efficiency cogeneration; - of a total installed electricity capacity below 500 kW, using exclusively biogas other than specified in items 7, 8 and 9 to generate electricity; - of a total installed electricity capacity not lower than 500 kW, using exclusively biogas other than specified in 7a, 8a and 9a to generate electricity from high-efficiency cogeneration; - in a dedicated biomass incinerator or in hybrid systems; - in a thermal waste treatment plant or a dedicated multi-fuel incinerator; - of a total installed electricity capacity not higher than 50 MW, in a thermal waste treatment plant, in a dedicated biomass incinerator or hybrid systems, in high-efficiency cogeneration; - of a total installed electricity capacity above 50 MW, in a thermal waste treatment plant, in a dedicated biomass incinerator or hybrid systems, in high-efficiency cogeneration.
3.	Up to 1 MW	- of a total installed electricity capacity below 500 kW, using exclusively agricultural biogas to generate electricity; - of a total installed electricity capacity below 500 kW, using exclusively agricultural biogas to generate electricity in high-efficiency cogeneration.
4.	Above 1 MW	- of a total installed electricity capacity above 1 MW, using exclusively agricultural biogas to generate electricity; - of a total installed electricity capacity above 1 MW, using exclusively agricultural biogas to generate electricity in high-efficiency cogeneration.
5.	Up to 1 MW	- of a total installed electricity capacity above 500 kW, using exclusively hydropower to generate electricity; - using exclusively biofluids to generate electricity; - of a total installed electricity capacity not lower than 500 kW and not higher than 1 MW, using exclusively hydropower to generate electricity; - using exclusively geothermal power to generate electricity.
6.	Above 1 MW	- using exclusively biofluids to generate electricity; - of a total installed electricity capacity above 1 MW, using exclusively hydropower to generate electricity; - using exclusively geothermal power to generate electricity.
7.	Up to 1 MW	- of a total installed electricity capacity not higher than 1 MW, using exclusively onshore wind power to generate electricity; - of a total installed electricity capacity not higher than 1 MW, using exclusively solar power to generate.
8.	Above 1 MW	- of a total installed electricity capacity above 1 MW, using exclusively onshore wind power to generate electricity; - of a total installed electricity capacity above 1 MW, using exclusively solar power to generate electricity.
9.	Up to 1 MW*	- exclusively a renewable energy source hybrid plant of a total installed capacity not higher than 1 MW.
10.	Above 1 MW	- exclusively a renewable energy source hybrid plant of a total installed capacity above 1 MW.

* Despite the existence of the regulatory framework, auctions for hybrid RES systems have not been held yet. The European Commission is yet to approve the State aid mechanism for this technology.

How can I bid at the auction?

Bids are submitted via the Online Auction Platform provided by the URE. Given the electronic auction form, it is important for the individuals representing the generators to have a qualified electronic signature or a trusted signature or a personal signature. At the same time, it should be noted that the bid must not be signed by an attorney-in-fact or a commercial proxy.