PROJECT DEVELOPMENT: SUSTAINBILITY | RELATIONS | PERSEVERANCE

The Project Development team at Horizons is responsible for preparing renewable energy projects (PV, wind, energy storage) to the stage of reaching Ready to Build status. Our team independently, as well as in cooperation with co-developers, successfully manages investment projects at various stages of development, ranging from greenfield projects to advanced ones with Ready to Build status.

What we do? Project development process

The first step in developing a project is to find a suitable location and secure the right to the land, usually in the form of a lease agreement. The search for a suitable site is already an arduous, time-consuming process, requiring great determination and, most importantly, the ability to build a partnership with the local community. The development phase, depending on the type of source, takes from about 18 months to even several years. During this time, many analyses, expert opinions and studies are carried out, which are necessary to obtain the relevant administrative decisions required by law.

We carry out all projects with the utmost care, taking into account solutions that can be implemented at the construction stage from the outset, without having to make numerous changes to the project documentation.

Preparation of the environmental procedure

One of the most important stages of development is the environmental procedure, which aims to analyse in detail the environmental impact of an investment. It is this concern for the environment and the desire to develop community-friendly energy investments that accompanies us throughout the project development process.

Each investment must also be carried out in accordance with the planning conditions in force in the municipality. Confirmation of the possibility of locating an investment in renewable energy sources in a given location is provided by obtaining a zoning decision or the local spatial development plan, which takes into account this type of generation source.

Obtaining grid connection conditions

The next key stage for the investment is to obtain conditions for connection to the electricity grid. It is the connection power obtained that determines the target shape of the project. The final stage of the development phase is to obtain a construction permit for both the generation source and the connection infrastructure.

The completion of the formal and legal path concluding the development phase of each project is a great joy for us. At this stage, we hand over the project for implementation. However, the true culmination of our development work is the completion of construction, when the project we have been preparing, often for a long time, "on paper" materialises. This is the greatest satisfaction for us.

Challenges and risks

The biggest challenges we face are the ever-changing legislative environment and, more recently, the significant limitations on the availability of free connection capacity in the electricity system. The lack of stable regulations and the constant uncertainty accompanying investors mean that investments in renewable energy sources are still fraught with many risks on the Polish market.

Our values

Throughout the development of the investment, relationships with all project stakeholders, based above all on mutual respect and trust, are of paramount importance to us. This helps to jointly overcome obstacles that arise during project implementation and, in our view, is the key to success.

We firmly believe that with our work we are contributing to the energy transition and thus to building a better, green, future for our children.

Katarzyna Górniak
Head of Project Development Team
office@horizons.energy
March 2023
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