Poland slashes VAT for residential solar from 23% to 8%

The VAT applied to residential PV in Poland will be reduced from 23% to 8%. The measure, approved last week by the Sejm lower house of the Polish parliament, was introduced through an amendment to Poland’s Environmental Protection Act.

The new provisions, which now have to be ratified by the senate and Polish president Andrzej Sebastian Duda, are expected to give a boost to residential PV which is already being supported through the Mój Prąd (My Electricity) scheme launched in July. That program is open to residential PV projects with a generation capacity of 2-10 kW and grants rebates of up to PLN5,000 ($1,268) per project.

In July the Polish government introduced a renewable energy act extending net metering access to businesses and energy communities. The incentive had previously been granted only to residential, public sector and housing community users. Net metering came into force in Poland in 2016.

Under net metering, owners of PV installations up to 10 kW in size are refunded 80% of the wholesale price for each kilowatt they inject into the grid. Owners of 10-40 kW systems receive 70% of the market value of the energy exported.

With Poland continuing to support ageing coal power generation facilities, power prices are expected to rise, making net metering a more attractive option.