Finnish utility group Fortum has decided to suspend its two Polish investments due to uncertainty over planned changes in Polish law on renewable energy. The company planned to spend zł.2.5 billion on building a 400 MW gas-fueled power plant in Wrocław and a co-generation unit in Zabrze.

“Before we make final decisions, we have to know what the legal framework is,” the company's spokesman in Poland, Jacek Ławrecki, said. Power generation market players fear that a lack of support for biomass co-firing will make many investments unprofitable.

Work on a new renewables law, designed to help Poland reduce its heavy dependence on coal, has already led France's EDF to freeze its €1.8 billion project to build a 900 MW coal-fired unit in Rybnik.

Poland A.M.