The beginning of October was marked by participation in two important industry events – PRECOP29 and Energy Days 2024, which is being organized for the first time.

Climate challenges, opportunities and threats to Poland’s energy transition, as well as issues related to energy storage and digitalization of the sector – these are just some of the issues being discussed at PRECOP29 and Energy Days organized at the International Congress Center in Katowice on October 2-3.

Tomasz Zadroga, vice chairman of the Respect Energy Group, stressed during the opening sessions that despite the enormous opportunities and the readiness of entrepreneurs to realize the goals of the green energy transition, there are still a number of barriers that slow down its pace.

Poland’s energy transition is moving too slowly. We need acceleration and introduction of measures that will intensify the development of such areas as RES and energy storage. This includes administrative procedures, which should make it as easy as possible for energy companies to do business.

Link to rebroadcast of the session „Przywództwo na rzecz klimatu”

Proper regulation, support for all generators or giving the initiative to private entrepreneurs should be the factors accelerating the transformation, he added.

We have been talking about transformation for 15 years. Then coal energy was good because it was cheap, today only renewable energy is cheap. Any other type of it is more expensive or much more expensive, stressed Tomasz Zadroga.

Link to rebroadcast of the session „Transformacja polskiego sektora energetycznego”       
Link to rebroadcast of the session „Polski sektor energii: zielona rewolucja czy apokalipsa?”

As part of the session “Industry, Energy, Investment. PPAs and the green energy market” Pavel Makaruk, Senior Origination Manager at Respect Energy emphasized the role of PPAs and energy storage facilities.

PPAs guarantee stability for both the generator and the consumer and are a secure solution. Regarding energy storage – we are in the midst of a storage revolution, and at this stage the first units are beginning to be profitable for both generators and individual users.

Link to rebroadcast of the session „„Przemysł, energia, inwestycje. PPA i rynek zielonej energii”

Magdalena Przybylczak, R&D BESS Project Manager at Respect Energy Solar Wind, also discussed the role of energy storage in the energy transition.

The next key step for the RES sector, she stressed, is the energy storage process and the creation of storage systems at large-scale photovoltaic installations. The most versatile technology used for this purpose is lithium-ion technology, which includes a wide range of different cell types, including lithium-iron-phosphate LFP. We are seeing increasing interest in integrating generation sources with energy storage.

Link to rebroadcast of the session „Energetyka słoneczna – technologie. Magazyny energii – technologie”

The process of digitizing the Polish energy sector is just beginning. The industry has a long way to go before solutions applied on a large scale will reduce the cost of energy for the consumer. We need an impetus that will stimulate change and put the digitalization of the sector on a new, faster track, pointed out Mateusz Pawełczuk, during the session Digitalization of the energy sector during the second day of Energy Days 2024.

Link to rebroadcast of the session „Digitalizacja sektora energetycznego”

The PRECOP29 conference – held once again at the ICC in Katowice – also addressed issues concerning the protection and support of biodiversity. These topics were addressed, among others, during the panel “Biodiversity and business” with the participation of Katarzyna Teter, ESG Manager at Respect Energy.

As she pointed out the key element for business to understand what biodiversity is and how important its role is, are economic factors. This approach is already present in the actions of investors, among others, who make their decisions based on ESG risks, of which biodiversity is an integral part.

Link to rebroadcast of the session „Bioróżnorodność i biznes”

The easiest and shortest path for a company to decarbonize is to purchase green energy. This trend is gaining momentum, stressed Dariusz Urbańczyk, Strategic Account Manager at Respect Energy during the “Green Business Sustainable Production” panel. As he pointed out, Respect Energy not only offers green energy to its customers, but also encourages them to take measures aimed at energy efficiency.

Link to rebroadcast of the sessioni „Zielony biznes, zrównoważona produkcja”.

Respect Energy was also honored with the Green Changer award.

During the gala accompanying PRECOP29, the awards honored both individuals and companies whose activities contribute to saving the planet from the effects of climate change. In addition to Respect Energy, the Green Changer 2024 award went to: Ewa Ewart, Polish Smog Alarm, Magdalena Lucyan, Marzena Cypryanska-Nezlek, the City of Lodz and Jerzy Buzek.

We want to be a green changer. We want to change the Polish energy sector and set the direction of the green transformation of the Polish energy sector, Tomasz Zadroga stressed during the gala.

The central part of Respect Energy’s participation in Energy Days 2024 was the pavilion, which was a space for exchanging ideas and experiences. Once again, the Respect Energy pavilion became a curatorial space emphasizing this time that the energy transition concerns all aspects of life, and energy is the basis of every activity of modern man. The pavilion featured the works of prominent artist Wojciech Siudmak, a world-renowned painter and surrealist, whose imagination fuels the energy of science fiction creators, scientists, artists in many fields of art and is an inspiration for business people.