About the report:

The energy transition is one of the EU’s flagship priorities. As a result, investments in electricity grids, distributed energy, offshore wind farms, and energy storage are co-financed from European funds. Events of recent years, including the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, have prompted the Union to accelerate the energy transition and diversify fuel supplies. This publication examines whether the available forms of support are adequate to meet needs and are designed in a way that maximises the benefits of the implemented investments.

Key conclusions:

• The energy transition in Poland is supported by a range of EU programmes and funds, including those under cohesion policy, as well as, among others, preferentially priced loans from the European Investment Bank.

• For the effective use of EU funds, they must address the specific development needs of EU Member States and help alleviate backlogs, tailored to the characteristics of each economy.

• The structure of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), which links successive tranches of investment funding to reforms, is intended to bring about a comprehensive improvement in the competitiveness of European economies.

• Support from European funds must take into account the needs of both small and large investors; however, it is the latter that deliver projects with the highest value added per project.

• The prospect of obtaining support from European funds helps entities in the energy sector reduce the share of their own funds required for investments that involve significant financial, time, staffing, and operational commitments.