Senate introduces 28 amendments to the agricultural biogas plants act

On 22 June 2023 the Senate adopted the act on facilitating the preparation and implementation of investments in agricultural biogas plants, and on their operation, introducing 28 amendments to it. According to press reports, they were mainly clarifying and editorial in nature. The act returns to the Sejm, which will decide which amendments to accept. For investors this is the last stage of legislation before the President's signature.

What is changing

The legislative process provides that after the Sejm passes an act it goes to the Senate, which may adopt it without changes, introduce amendments or reject it. In this case the Senate decided on amendments. They concerned detailed provisions: clarification of definitions, alignment with other acts, time limits and the manner of proceeding. They did not change the fundamental concept of the act, which is to simplify and speed up investment in agricultural biogas plants carried out by qualifying entities.

A Senate amendment is considered adopted unless the Sejm rejects it by an absolute majority of votes in the presence of at least half of the statutory number of deputies (Article 121(3) of the Constitution). After consideration the act goes to the President, who has 21 days to sign it, refer it to the Constitutional Tribunal or return it to the Sejm with a reasoned request for reconsideration (a veto).

Significance for the industry in Poland

For investors, timing matters: decisions to start projects often depend on the final wording of the rules. Until the act enters into force, permit applications are subject to the existing rules. At the same time, transitional provisions may make it possible to take advantage of the new solutions in pending cases – provided that the relevant declarations are submitted.

For farmers, the rules on the categories of entities entitled to the facilitations and the requirement that part of the feedstock come from their own land are particularly important. Such provisions are meant to ensure that the facilitations go to projects linked to agriculture and not to purely commercial industrial installations.

What to pay attention to

Before the act enters into force, it is worth preparing project documentation, assessing compliance with the requirements on siting and feedstocks, and checking whether a pending case can be covered by the new rules. It is also worth studying the draft implementing regulations, in particular those concerning the list of substrates.

Why the amendments matter formally as well

Clarifications in acts are often decisive in practice. A single word in a definition or a time limit can determine whether a specific project qualifies for the simplified pathway. That is why legal advisers analyse not only the text from the Sejm but also all the Senate amendments and their compatibility with other acts, for example the Building Law or the act on spatial planning.

What next

The Sejm will consider the Senate's amendments at its next sitting. After the President's signature the act will be published in the Journal of Laws (Dziennik Ustaw) and will enter into force after 30 days. The industry expects the detailed regulations to be issued without delay.