Renewed “Clean Air” Program Met with Caution by the Renewable Energy Sector; Columbus Sees Both Opportunities and Risks.
The renewable energy sector is approaching the newly published rules of the “Clean Air” program with some skepticism. Columbus Energy recognizes both opportunities and risks within the new regulations.
According to today’s announcement by the Ministry of Climate and Environment, the latest version of the “Clean Air” program, with a budget of 10 billion PLN, is set to launch in April 2025. However, the new program regulations have sparked considerable controversy, particularly among representatives of the renewable energy sector.
“We all unanimously support the goals of the ‘Clean Air’ program, which were reiterated today by the Minister of Climate and Environment, Paulina Hennig-Kloska. These include tackling energy poverty, eliminating excessively high energy bills, and preventing abuses through rational spending and mechanisms that protect beneficiaries. We also agree with the concept of conducting energy audits before grants are awarded, as we have been performing such audits as part of our long-standing practice. However, we question whether the new regulations were thoroughly consulted with all stakeholders, including the businesses implementing the program. The proposed cost limits for each investment component not only fail to reflect market prices for products and services but also set uniform price levels that will make the program unprofitable for some companies. As a result, these businesses will be forced out of the market. That was probably not the intention of the policymakers who spent several months refining the program. If the goal is to prevent so-called fictitious modernizations, a more effective solution would be to introduce regional operators—reliable and experienced companies that could act as process controllers,” says Dawid Zieliński, CEO of Columbus Energy S.A.
At the same time, the Columbus CEO emphasizes that the company is fully prepared to implement the program in April in accordance with the new regulations.
“For several months, we have been preparing our sales teams, recruiting and training employees, and selecting subcontractors to ensure we can begin processing new applications in April. We hope that the new version of the program will have stable financial backing and that businesses will not have to worry about payment delays. We also encourage other companies to join the Clean Air Employers’ Association, which represents the interests of businesses in discussions with NGOs and the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW),” adds Dawid Zieliński.
Source: ManagerPlus
