Photovoltaic installations in Poland will face mandatory fire-safety requirements from 20 September, and industry lawyers say the new rules leave a legal grey area. Retrofitting a solar system on an existing building is not clearly covered by the draft regulation, raising the risk that some projects will go ahead without proper oversight.
There are already more than 1.6 million prosumers in Poland, generating a significant share of the electricity they consume through PV microinstallations. These systems cover a growing part of household electricity demand. As Rzeczpospolita reports, this expansion has run ahead of the law, prompting the Ministry of Development and Technology to prepare new regulations.
The ministry wants to make fire-protection safeguards compulsory and to set detailed requirements for the installation and operation of photovoltaic systems. The new regulations are intended to improve safety and bring more order to a fast-growing market.
The 6.5 kW threshold and the compliance gap
At the moment, PV installations up to 6.5 kW do not require the approval of a fire-protection expert. After the changes come into force, some investors may try to bypass the regulations and put up systems that do not fully meet the new safety standards.
The serious legal gap concerns new installations placed on buildings that already exist. Buildings designed after the new regulations take effect will have to meet the updated requirements, while existing buildings with operational PV systems are not obliged to adapt. The draft regulation does not say which rules apply when an existing building receives a new installation.
Unresolved case in the draft regulation
– A building designed after the regulation enters into force will have to comply with the new requirements. However, an existing building with a functioning installation is not subject to the obligation to adapt. The third case – installing a new system on an existing building – is unfortunately not resolved in the draft regulation – said Aleksandra Lindner, partner at Hewelt, Wojnowski, Lindner i wspólnicy.
Because the third scenario is left unspecified, installers and property owners cannot be certain whether a fire-protection expert must be involved. This uncertainty leaves room for at least some PV capacity to be built outside full regulatory control.
Źródło: WNP.PL, Fot. Fotokon / Shutterstock
