Poland unlikely to meet EU 2020 renewables target: regulator

London — Poland's energy regulator URE said Tuesday it was "doubtful" the country would meet its binding 2020 EU target to produce 15% of its final energy consumption from renewable energy sources.

Poland, like other member states, may face daily fines if it does not meet its target by the end of this year.

"In the opinion of URE's president...the achievement of reaching a 15% share of renewable energy in gross final energy in 2020 is doubtful," URE said in an opinion of a draft regulation for this year's renewable energy auctions.

According to Marcin Stoczkiewicz, a lawyer for the NGO ClientEarth Poland, the European Commission can launch legal proceedings at the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg against any member state that fails to meet its binding RES target.

If the court decides to impose a fine, the size of the fine would be based on a number of factors including a member state's GDP and how large the shortfall was, he told S&P Global Platts.

In the past, the court has imposed daily fines against Poland in the range of Eur20,000-70,000 ($22,300-$78,200) for infringing EU law, he said.

According to the latest figures from Eurostat, in 2017, the share of energy from renewable sources in gross final energy consumption in Poland was 4.1 percentage points short of its 15% target.

--Adam Easton, adam.easton@spglobal.com

--Edited by Jonathan Loades-Carter, jonathan.carter@spglobal.com