From October 2025 through September 2026, fossil fuels supplied about two-thirds of Poland’s electricity consumption, while low-carbon sources provided roughly one-third. Coal alone accounted for just over half of electricity consumption, and gas supplied another 14%. Among clean electricity sources, wind contributed about 14% and solar 13%, together supplying more than a quarter of consumption. Biofuels provided around 4% and hydropower nearly 2%. Poland therefore still relies heavily on fossil electricity, with associated climate and air-pollution impacts, despite a substantial contribution from low-carbon sources.

Is Electricity Growing in Poland?

Poland’s latest figures show progress in clean electricity, but total electricity consumption per person remains below its historical peak. In 2026, consumption stood at 4,367 kWh per person, about 230 kWh, or 5%, below the record of 4,596 kWh set in 2018. This comparison does not establish whether consumption increased or decreased from the preceding year, but it shows that the earlier peak has not been regained. Low-carbon electricity generation, meanwhile, reached a new high of 1,451 kWh per person, roughly 70 kWh, or 5%, above the previous record set in 2025. That clean electricity growth is encouraging, although expanding overall electricity supply remains important for electrification and growing demand from AI.

Suggestions

Poland should build on its existing strengths by expanding both wind and solar generation, alongside developing nuclear electricity. Nearby regions offer useful examples: wind supplies about 31% of electricity generation in Germany and 41% in Lithuania, while Denmark reaches almost 60%. For solar, the Netherlands’ experience is not included in these figures, but North Macedonia’s roughly 40% solar share demonstrates the substantial contribution solar can make in a European electricity system. Nuclear should also become a major pillar of Poland’s clean electricity expansion: neighboring Slovakia generates about two-thirds of its electricity from nuclear, while Czechia generates around 41% and France about 67%. Learning from these regions’ deployment experience, while expanding grids and flexibility, would help Poland increase low-carbon electricity supply and displace fossil generation.

History

Poland’s low-carbon electricity history shows an increasingly strong contribution from wind and, more recently, solar. Hydropower generation increased by 1.7 TWh in 1990, while biofuels recorded gains of 1.6 TWh in 2009 and 2.5 TWh in 2012, followed by a 2 TWh decline in 2016. Wind expanded repeatedly during the 2010s, including a 3.2 TWh increase in 2015 and a 2.3 TWh gain in 2017; a disappointing 2.1 TWh decline in 2018 was followed by a 2.2 TWh rebound in 2019. During the 2020s, growth accelerated: wind added 3.5 TWh in 2022 and 4.4 TWh in 2023, while solar recorded gains every year listed from 2021 through 2026. Solar’s largest increase was 6.6 TWh in 2024, followed by further gains of 2.6 TWh in 2025 and 2.1 TWh in 2026—continued progress that Poland should build upon.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade

* 12M = Last 12 months (Oct 2025 – Sep 2026) — a rolling 12-month period, not a calendar year.