Helioenergy in Poland - Current state, surveys and prospects

The history, current state, surveys, and prospects of development of helioenergy in Poland have been presented. In general, Poland has relatively good conditions for the development of helioenergy, which are comparable to those of Germany. The achievements of Jan Czochralski, known as the father of photovoltaics, have also been described. The indicator of total installed area of solar collectors per number of inhabitants in Poland reached 39.0 m(2)/1000 people at the end of 2013. The Polish solar collector market is the second largest in Europe. Currently there are 193 photovoltaic power stations of total power of 35.6 MW (electricity for 480 households) operating in Poland. According to surveys, the owners of companies installing flat plate solar collectors or flat plate and evacuated tube solar collectors in Poland are satisfied with their turnover. Solar collectors of efficiency of about 80% and surface area of 1.9-2.44 m(2) are the most often sold. The photovoltaic modules that are the most often sold in Poland are the modules of efficiency of 12-15% and power of about 250 W. In the near future a further rise in the number of installed solar collectors is forecast and large photovoltaic power stations are also planned. The total potential of thermal solar power in Poland is estimated to be about 19 PJ/year (heat for 590,000 households) in 2020. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.