“Wind Energy of Freedom” national social campaign will be launched ion 1 August. It is to emphasize the importance of renewable energy sources in Poland, in particular wind energy — the source of clean and least expensive electricity in the market that ensures energy security of the country. The campaign is managed by Polish Wind Energy Association togetwher with Cityboard Media.
The care for the natural environment and counteracting global warming are currently the most serious challenges faced by the world. The pressure on obtaining clean and inexpensive energy will increase as fossil fuel deposits are inevitably exhausted. Wind energy is not dependant on fossil fuel availability — it is free and inexhaustible. Contrary to traditional sources, the cost of electricity from wind will continue to decrease. This is caused by technological progress, including increasing turbine efficiency. Wind energy development is a proven method to improve energy security. In the face of the war in Ukraine, prioritising renewable energy development is in the best construed national interest of Poland, for the more RES in the system, the lower fuel import from abroad.
“Wind energy is the response to the current challenges in that respect. Not only it decreases the demand for imported fossil fuels, but also offers electricity that is 3–3.5 times less expensive than produced from such fuels. Moreover, wind energy, being a distributed source, is less susceptible to physical threats, therefore much safer than large, centralised generation assets. Today, accelerating the transition and enabling new RES investments is a necessity not only to protect the climate or as an opportunity for the economy, but primarily in terms of Poland’s sovereignty and its national interest,” said Janusz Gajowiecki, President of the Polish Wind Energy Association.
The “Wind Energy of Freedom” campaign is to encourage the public to seek professional knowledge about wind energy to debunk the many common myths. Social acceptance for wind is crucial for the success of new investments that guarantee not only clean energy, but also new jobs, economic growth and substantial revenue for the local budgets, in accordance with the government’s new proposal.
As demonstrated by the latest Social Changes study (July 2022), 81% of Polish citizens support the development of onshore wind farms; 75% think that onshore wind contributes to the increase in energy security and decrease of dependence from fossil fuels; and 85% of respondents think that the law in Poland should support the development and use of renewable energy sources, including wind. The results confirm how important for the public are the now-implemented changes to the Distance Act, enabling interested municipalities to decrease minimum distance between development and wind farms to 500 metres.
“Polish citizens see the need to develop onshore wind and are aware of the benefits it brings. We are happy to see that the government also acknowledges this need. The amendment to the Distance Act, which assumes liberalization of the infamous 10 h rule, increases the area of sites available for wind energy investments more than 25-fold. It must be emphasized that the current 500 m distance between a wind turbine and buildings, stipulated in the Act, is safe — the very distance is used throughout almost the entire Europe,” added PWEA President, Janusz Gajowiecki.
“We are happy to support PWEA initiative aimed at promotion of renewable energy sources. Ecological solutions are close to our hearts, therefore we are very happy to take part in the campaign,” said Marcin Stan, Member of the Board, Cityboard Media.
The campaign will be outdoor and digital. It will feature 100 cityboards (6×3 metres). The posters will be displayed at the beginning of August in 10 largest Polish cities. The campaign will use 2 different themes with the “Wind Energy of Freedom” and “Wind Energy for Poland” watchwords. The outdoor campaign will be supported by social media actions.