Poland is clearly far from being a leader on climate action – it still uses coal to generate nearly 90 per cent of its electricity. However, below the doom and gloom headlines there are glimmers of hope that reveal a burgeoning will to join the global transition towards a clean energy future. Philippa Nuttall Jones finds that a growing sector of the population is increasingly seeing community energy as a means to a more democratic future. “It is difficult to get community power projects up and running because there are many barriers,” acknowledges Julia Krzyszkowska from the CEE Bankwatch Network. “It is difficult for these projects to sell energy to the grid and there is no stable up-to-date law to encourage the growth of renewables as in Germany,” she says. “But there is change, in particular in terms of prosumers,” adds Krzyszkowska. Prosumers are energy producers and consumers, who are creating their own renewable energy and, in some cases, selling what they don’t use themselves back into the grid. According to research by Polish NGOs there are currently around 230-240,000 … Continue reading Local energy brings greater democracy in Poland