In June 2026, Poland curtailed a record 286.6 GWh of electricity from renewable sources, with solar farms accounting for the vast majority – 246.9 GWh, or 14.2% of their potential generation. This marks the highest monthly curtailment of photovoltaic capacity in the country’s history, according to data from the Forum Energii think tank.
Poland’s transmission system operator, Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne, was forced to resort to non-market redispatching of renewable generation units for 252 hours – 35% of all hours in the month – spread across 26 days. Wind farms were also affected, with 39.7 GWh curtailed, representing 2.9% of their potential output.
A widening gap between record production and forced shutdowns
Despite the curtailments, Poland’s solar capacity set a new generation record in June, producing approximately 3.1 TWh of electricity – up 4.4% compared to May and 7.1% year-on-year. In total, all renewables generated 5.3 TWh, accounting for 37.2% of domestic power output. Yet this was 5.9% less than in May and 11.8% less than in the record-breaking June 2025.
Wind generation suffered from the typical summer lull, producing only 1.3 TWh – a 25.2% drop month-on-month and a 41.3% drop year-on-year. The combination of high solar output and low wind, together with grid congestion, pushed curtailments for wind and PV 46.9% higher than in June 2025. Since the beginning of 2026, total curtailed generation has reached 1,174.3 GWh, a 44.7% increase over the same period last year.
Conventional sources still dominate the mix
Conventional power plants supplied 62.6% of Poland’s electricity in June. Coal remained the backbone: hard coal contributed 31.7%, lignite 18.9%, and gas 11.7%. The figures underscore the structural challenge of integrating growing renewable capacity into a system still reliant on baseload fossil generation.
Forum Energii noted that even though renewable output in June was down from the record levels of the previous year, the need for curtailment increased sharply. The think tank emphasized that without faster grid expansion, better storage deployment, and more flexible demand-side management, such wasteful shutdowns will continue to rise as more solar and wind capacity comes online.
Źródło: WNP.PL, Fot. Materiały prasowe / Photon Energy
