Poland: Alternative energy: Polish wind farm sector faces uncertainty over new planning rules - by Agnieszka Barteczko

Windpower in Poland

Poland is considering a ban on building wind farms close to houses, a move the industry fears may block new investment in renewable energy sources and bolster coal’s role in the economy.

Under European Union rules, Poland – which generates most of its electricity from highly polluting coal – has to produce 15 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020 compared to around 12 percent now.

Since 2005, installed wind farm capacity has risen from 83 megawatt (MW) to more than 4 gigawatt (GW), taking Poland closer to the target but more is needed to comply with the EU target.

A parliament committee asked the government earlier this week to look into how wind farms are being built in the countryside. It said new regulations were needed regarding the distance between wind farms and houses.

Read more: Polish wind farm sector faces uncertainty over new planning rules | NewsDaily

Wind Power: More wind and lower energy prices as Atlantic storms hit Europe in November - by Rachel Morison

November is predicted to be warmer than usual across Europe for a second month with storm winds from the Atlantic poised to boost electricity generation in Denmark, Germany and the U.K.

Temperatures will be as much as 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit) more than normal in western Europe and the U.K., and 5 degrees higher in central and east Europe through Nov. 10, Byron Drew, lead forecaster at MetraWeather in Reading, England, said in an e-mailed report.

Three other forecasters also surveyed by Bloomberg News since Oct. 30 predicted above-average temperatures for this month.

German power prices for November plunged 7.5 percent last month, touching a record-low 38.60 euros ($52.10) a megawatt hour on Oct. 31 after hurricane-force storms in northern Europe drove wind generation to an all-time high. Atlantic gusts are set to bring storm-like conditions and winds of as much as 100 kilometers (62 miles) per hour in Germany through tomorrow, according to Simon Trippler, a Deutscher Wetterdienst meteorologist based in Offenbach, Germany.

“Good wind power output will continue through the first 10 days of November as a sequence of Atlantic depressions bring frequent strong spikes to the U.K., Denmark and Germany,” Stephen Davenport, a London-based meteorologist at MeteoGroup U.K. Ltd., said by e-mail Nov. 1. “These will also produce wetter-than-normal conditions across the British Isles, Nordic regions and the northern European mainland.”

Day-ahead electricity prices in Germany, Europe’s biggest power market, declined 49 percent to 19.90 euros a megawatt-hour as wind generation reached a peak of 24,874 megawatts on Oct. 28, European Energy Exchange AG data show. Wind output is expected to reach a high of 19,535 megawatts today, compared with 12,407 megawatts tomorrow, according to a Bloomberg wind model for Germany.

Note EU-Digest: Even though  energy companies find these windy conditions unfavorable for utilities, driving prices below 34 euros per megawatt-hour, consumers hope these stronger winds will last throughout the winter and become a "windfall" for them.

Read more: Atlantic Storms to Hit Europe in Warmer-Than-Usual November - Bloomberg