Prosumers in Action: The Analysis of Social Determinants of Photovoltaic Development and Prosumer Strategies in Poland

Abstract

The aim of this article is to explain the mechanisms that have increased the grassroots development of photovoltaics (PV) in Poland and to explain the motives of prosumers. Micro-installations have become a driving force for PV in Poland, thanks to which the country, whose energy industry is mostly based on hard coal and lignite, became the fourth PV growth market in Europe in 2020. Based on focus group interviews, the authors explain the motives of prosumers, the impact of investing in PV on changing their lifestyle, their readiness to switch to off-grid systems and their potential to create a prosumer social movement in Poland. The decentralisation of the energy sector and the mass prosumer response to the increase in energy price led the government to change the regulations in force in Poland from April 2022, which defined the method of settling the surplus energy given by prosumers to the grid.

Renewable Energy Investments in Poland: Goals, Socio-Economic Benefits, and Development Directions

“…Investments in solar power plants and photovoltaic installations play an important role in the development of renewable energy in Poland [28][29][30][31][32]. The sun is an extremely abundant and free source of energy that can be converted into electricity using photovoltaic panels.…”

“…The developmental trend is anticipated to continue with the European Union's 2030 targets for renewable energy consumption and potentially beyond 2050 as part of low-carbon development strategies. Additionally, the grassroots development of photovoltaics driven by prosumer motivation and proactive investment in micro-installations has contributed to Poland's position as the fourth-fastest-growing PV market in Europe as of 2020 [31]. Hydroelectric power plants in Poland have theoretically great development potential [34][35][36][37].…”

Living Lab Long-Term Sustainability in Hybrid Access Positive Energy Districts—A Prosumager Smart Fog Computing Perspective

“…The entire behavior of the system is then influenced only by the billing rules and the price of energy in the spot market in a given network. Because saving money is one of the most important reasons for the transition of prosumagers [60], it is natural to expect that prosumers and their households will selfishly share energy with their neighbors and also schedule their energy storage systems to maximize profits. The district simulation (Fig.…”

The role of trust, information and legal stability in the development of renewable energy: the analysis of non-economic factors affecting entrepreneurs’ investments in green energy in Poland

“…The upward trend in energy prices will continue. Therefore, in Poland, a rapid increase in the number of micro-photovoltaic (PV) installations set up by individual prosumers has been observed since 2019 (Żuk & Żuk, 2022d ). As entrepreneurs expect further increases in energy prices, the amount of energy produced by business prosumers will also grow (Żuk and Żuk, 2021a ).…”