Model of optimization of wind energy production in the light of legal changes in Poland

The article discusses the planning of wind energy development in the West Pomeranian Region after the introduction of the Act "On investments in wind farms" as of 20 May 2016. The purpose of the article is to provide the forecast of the region’s wind energy development in 2019–2030 by taking into account current legal regulations in Poland. The article proposes an original, optimizing multi-criteria wind energy development model for the studied region, exploring various types of technologies that may appear in the system, taking into account recent legal and political changes in the field of renewable energy regulation in Poland. The results of the optimization model show that the currently passed Act "On investments in wind farms" in Poland actually stopped the development of wind energy in the region. On the other hand, in accordance with the objectives of the adopted draft of the Polish energy policy until 2040, it is expected that the share of renewable energy in electricity production will increase in 2030 in the studied region. Therefore, the paper argues that policy changes are necessary to meet the renewable energy goals of Poland.