URE announces dates of the December RES auctions: separate baskets for biogas

The President of the Energy Regulatory Office (URE) announced the schedule of the December RES auctions on 31 October 2024. The set included separate auction days for biogas: 9 December for biogas plants up to 1 MW, 10 December for biogas plants above 1 MW, and 11 December for agricultural biogas installations above 1 MW. In total, about 44.6 TWh of energy with a maximum value of over PLN 17 billion was put up for sale.

How the auctions work

Polish RES auctions are organised in technology and capacity baskets. The offers with the lowest price win, until the volume of energy or the value is exhausted. Only new installations may take part. The winner receives the right to sell energy at the price from its offer for 15 years (a contract-for-difference-type settlement against the market price).

In December 2024 the calendar looks as follows:

• 9 December – biogas plants up to 1 MW,
• 10 December – biogas plants above 1 MW,
• 11 December – agricultural biogas above 1 MW,
• 12–13 December – hydropower, biofuels and geothermal,
• 16 December – photovoltaics and onshore wind up to 1 MW,
• 17 December – photovoltaics and onshore wind above 1 MW (the largest basket: 21.75 TWh and over PLN 6 billion).

Together, the photovoltaic and onshore wind baskets covered about 33 TWh with a value of over PLN 10 billion. Reference prices and maximum offer prices are set out in the URE table.

Significance for the industry in Poland

For investors, biogas auctions are one of the few ways of securing the electricity revenues of a biogas plant. Winning an auction does not guarantee construction: projects are often blocked by grid connections, financing and permits, so participants should have secured connection conditions and substrate supplies even before submitting an offer.

From the perspective of 2024, there were as yet no auctions for biomethane: the government was only preparing a system of contracts for difference.

What next

The auctions will take place in December according to the schedule, and their results will show the scale of interest in biogas in the segments up to and above 1 MW. There are as yet no auctions for biomethane – the government is only preparing a system of contracts for difference for larger installations. Investors should follow the results, because offer prices are an indication of the level of biogas-based electricity production costs in Polish conditions.