Poland raises capacity threshold for permit-free energy storage under new regulation

The Polish Sejm, the lower house of parliament, has passed an amendment to the Building Law that introduces more favorable conditions for the development of small-scale energy storage systems than initially proposed.

The original draft of the regulation set a 20 kWh capacity threshold for energy storage systems exempt from building permit requirements. However, lawmakers have raised the limit to 30 kWh for standalone energy storage installations, simplifying procedures for small-scale commericial and industrial (C&I) and residential projects.

Furthermore, the new rules stipulate that systems between 30 kWh and 300 kWh must undergo a construction notification process, include a land development plan, and obtain fire safety approval.

For systems sized between 300 kWh and 2,000 kWh, developers must submit a construction notification, a land development plan including fire protection arrangements, and provide a storage system location plan to the State Fire Service after construction. Installations with a capacity above 2,000 kWh will continue to require a building permit (PnB).

For energy storage systems installed within buildings, those with capacities of up to 30 kWh will also be exempt from any formal procedures. Systems rated between 30 kWh and 300 kWh must be notified to the relevant authorities and accompanied by technical documentation, fire protection approval, and a design prepared by a certified electrical installation designer. Storage systems above 300 kWh installed in buildings will require a building permit.

The amendment is seen as an important step toward streamlining regulation and accelerating the deployment of energy storage systems in Poland. The bill will now proceed to the Senate for further review.

The initial version of the legislation would have limited the permit exemption to systems up to 20 kWh, effectively subjecting nearly all residential, commercial, and industrial installations to lengthy administrative procedures equivalent to those for large-scale energy projects.

According to Barbara Adamska, President of the Polish Energy Storage Association (PESA), the revised amendment addresses most of the organization’s demands – particularly the removal of formal requirements for the smallest installations – noting that the organization is “pleased that the industry’s voice was heard”. However, she emphasized the need for an additional regulatory category between the current “no formalities” level and the construction notification requirement.

Adamska suggested that storage systems in the 30–120 kWh range installed within buildings, as well as standalone systems between 30 and 300 kWh, should be subject only to fire safety approval, rather than a full construction notification process. She also recommended raising the capacity threshold for requiring a building permit, noting that 4,000 kWh has become the standard for containerized storage systems and should be reflected in future regulations.

She added that it would also be worth increasing the no-formality threshold to 40 kWh in future legislative updates.