ML AVIATION

ML AVIATIONDisciplinesBiogas

A biogas plant is three projects in one.

A biogas plant is an agricultural, an energy and a construction project at once. We advise from the feedstock balance to commissioning, so that each part fits the others.

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Power thresholds

The same plant, a different path.

Electrical capacity decides the deadlines and the simplifications. Move the slider to see which thresholds in the acts and the regulation the project crosses and what changes in each decision.

1.0MW

Assumptions: connection to a network above 1 kV, connection capacity equal to electrical capacity, agricultural biogas as defined in the renewables act. For the zoning simplifications we also assume the plant stays within 3 MW of cogenerated heat, 4 million m³ of agricultural biogas and 2.4 million m³ of biomethane a year. Deadlines exclude periods the acts do not count; in particularly justified cases the operator may extend the connection-conditions deadline by up to half.

  1. Agricultural Biogas Plants Act

    Applies. The project uses the shorter deadlines and simplifications below.

    art. 4(1)

  2. Environmental decision

    Above 0.5 MW the exclusion based on the capacity threshold no longer applies. We classify the project under the relevant catalogue items, depending on feedstock and waste processing. If it falls within the catalogue, the authority has 30 days from the start of proceedings to decide whether a full assessment is needed.

    § 3(1) items 47, 54 and 82 of the regulation, art. 65(1) of the EIA act

  3. Zoning decision, where there is no local plan

    65 days. The only parties are the applicant, holders of limited property rights or other rights permanently restricting ownership, and owners and perpetual usufructuaries of properties in the area of impact.

    On an application filed from 1 September 2026 a zoning decision can be issued only where a general plan is in force in the municipality (closed areas excepted).

    art. 64(1) and (1a), art. 64aa

  4. Connection conditions

    90 days from paying the advance.

    Within 60 days of receiving the application the operator confirms it is complete or lists what is missing. The conditions are valid for one year from delivery. As a rule the agreement lapses if within 36 months of signing the operator is not notified of a final permit covering at least 80% of the capacity; the act provides exceptions and an extension.

    art. 7(8g), art. 7(8ga), (8g1), (8i), (2a)

  5. Building permit

    45 days for the decision; after that the authority pays a penalty of PLN 500 per day of delay.

    The deadline and penalty do not apply to projects subject to an environmental impact assessment or a Natura 2000 assessment.

    art. 35(6) and (6a)

  6. Payments with the connection application

    Advance up to PLN 60,000 (PLN 60 per kW, at most PLN 6 million and no more than the expected connection charge) and application fee PLN 1,000 per connection point (PLN 1 per kW, at most PLN 100,000).

    art. 7(8a), (8b), (8b1, 8b2)

  7. Register and licence

    Entry in the register of agricultural biogas producers kept by the Director General of KOWR, 7 days from a complete application. No URE licence when electricity is generated only from agricultural biogas.

    art. 23, 24 and 27a of the renewables act, art. 32(1)(1)(d) of the Energy Law

Scope of advice

  1. Location assessmentBefore you buy or lease a plot

    We check whether the location can carry the grid connection, the feedstock truck traffic and the distance from dwellings, before you sign anything.

  2. Feedstock balanceWhen you start from the feedstock

    Types, quantities and seasonality of local feedstock, logistics of delivery and storage, and the risk of a shortfall in input.

  3. Technology conceptWhen you have feedstock but no model

    We help choose the scale and the use of the biogas: electricity, heat for a nearby customer or biomethane. This covers capacity, tank layout, feedstock preparation, use of digestate and heat, and requirements for the plot.

  4. Formal pathWhen the project has stalled at the authority

    Planning basis, environmental decision, connection conditions, building permit and the register of agricultural biogas producers, in the right order. We put the documentation in order, answer the authority's requests and establish which decision is missing from the chain.

  5. Selection of supplier and contractorWhen technology offers are hard to compare

    Requests for quotation and a common denominator for suppliers' offers: scope, guarantees, requirements for the site and operating costs. We also review contracts and the schedule.

  6. Supervision and commissioningWhen works start

    Inspection of works, tests, technological commissioning and handover to operation.

Where projects most often stall

  1. A permit that lapses

    A building permit lapses if construction does not start within 3 years of the day the decision became final.

Check the path of your investment

The planner shows the order of decisions, the authorities and statutory deadlines for five types of investment.

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