RES abbreviations glossary: from WZ and GPZ to SPA and REMIT

Discussions on RES projects are conducted using abbreviations, and the same abbreviation may be used in two different meanings. Below are the abbreviations that most frequently appear in listings, data rooms, and transaction documents, along with their full forms and brief explanations. Where an abbreviation has a statutory basis, the relevant provision is provided.

The dictionary is for informational purposes. The meaning of a term in a specific contract or decision is determined based on its content, not on the general definition.

Installation and its capacity

• BESS, battery energy storage system, battery energy storage, increasingly built together with a photovoltaic or wind installation.
• CHP, combined heat and power, cogeneration, which is the production of electricity and heat in a single process.
• Small installation, a renewable energy source installation with a total installed electrical capacity greater than 50 kW and not exceeding 1 MW, connected to a network with a nominal voltage lower than 110 kV (Article 2(18) of the Act of 20 February 2015 on renewable energy sources).
• Micro-installation, a renewable energy installation with a total installed electrical capacity not exceeding 50 kW, connected to a grid with a nominal voltage lower than 110 kV (Article 2(19) of the Act on Renewable Energy Sources).
• MWh, megawatt-hour, unit of energy; for storage it describes capacity, for generation it describes production volume.
• MWp, megawatt peak, peak power of photovoltaic modules given for standardised test conditions, usually higher than the grid connection capacity of the installation.
• RES, renewable energy sources, i.e. non-fossil sources listed in Article 2(22) of the Act on Renewable Energy Sources, including wind energy, solar radiation energy, hydro energy, biomass, biogas and biomethane.
• PV, photovoltaics, which means generating electricity from solar radiation in semiconductor modules.

Network and operators

• GPZ, main power supply point, electrical substation transforming voltage from high to medium; this is the most common connection point for RES projects, and the grid context is shown by the tool Available grid connection capacity.
• HV, high voltage, high voltage, level used in the transmission network and in the upper layers of the distribution network.
• MV, medium voltage, medium voltage, level to which most RES projects with power measured in megawatts are connected.
• OSD, distribution system operator, i.e. the energy company involved in the distribution of electricity or gas fuels and responsible for network traffic in its system (Article 3(25) of the Energy Law of 10 April 1997); in the electricity sector, these include Tauron Dystrybucja, Energa-Operator, PGE Dystrybucja, Enea Operator and Stoen Operator.
• OSP, system operator, i.e. an energy undertaking engaged in transmission and responsible for system balancing in the transmission system (Article 3(24) of the Energy Law); in the Polish power system, this role is performed by PSE.
• PSE, Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne, the transmission system operator in Poland.
• UP, grid connection agreement, a contract with the operator specifying the scope of works, division of responsibilities, fees and the connection schedule.
• WLZ, internal supply line, a section of electrical installation connecting the junction to the building’s distribution board.
• WP, grid connection conditions, operator document specifying parameters and rules for connecting the installation to the grid, preceding the grid connection agreement.

Administrative process

• MPZP, local zoning plan, a local law act adopted under the Act of 27 March 2003 on spatial planning and development, determining the land use.
• OOŚ, environmental impact assessment, proceedings conducted under the Act of 3 October 2008 on access to information on the environment and its protection, public participation in environmental protection and on environmental impact assessments, concluding with a decision on environmental conditions.
• PnB, building permit, a decision issued under the Act of 7 July 1994 on Construction Law, without which construction works subject to the obligation to obtain it cannot be started.
• RTB, ready to build, a market term for a project ready to start construction; it is not a statutory category, so its scope must be checked in the documents each time.
• WZ, zoning decision, basis for locating an investment in an area without a local zoning plan, issued under the Act on Spatial Planning and Development.

Transaction and documents

• APA, asset purchase agreement, agreement for the sale of selected assets and rights instead of shares in the project company.
• CP, conditions precedent, suspensive conditions, i.e. events that must occur before closing the transaction.
• DD, due diligence, project assessment before transaction; the scope of the legal part is described in the article on legal due diligence for RES projects, and the process is structured by an interactive checklist.
• EoI, expression of interest, written expression of interest in the project, usually without a binding price offer.
• LOI, letter of intent, describing the parties’ intentions and the principles for further discussions, mostly non-binding in most respects.
• MAC, material adverse change, clause allowing withdrawal from the transaction in the event of a significant adverse change on the project or company side.
• MOU, memorandum of understanding, cooperation agreement and rules for conducting negotiations, functionally similar to a letter of intent.
• NDA, non-disclosure agreement, confidentiality agreement entered into before disclosing project data; the scope of typical provisions is discussed in the article on NDA in RES transactions.
• R&W, representations and warranties, seller’s statements and warranties regarding the project status, together with the rules on liability for their inaccuracy.
• SPA, share purchase agreement, i.e. the agreement for the sale of shares in a project company.
• VDR, virtual data room, electronic document repository made available to researchers; how to organise it is described in the RES project data room guide.

Agreements and operation

• AM, asset management, asset management after commissioning, covering commercial, settlement and reporting matters.
• COD, commercial operation date, the date when the installation begins commercial operation, as referred to in the construction contracts and energy sales agreements.
• cPPA, corporate power purchase agreement, energy sales contract concluded directly with an industrial or corporate consumer.
• EPC, engineering, procurement and construction, general contractor agreement covering design, supply and construction.
• O&M, operation and maintenance, operation and maintenance agreement for the installation during the operational period.
• PPA, power purchase agreement, long-term electricity purchase agreement for energy generated at a specific facility.

Finances and indicators

• CAPEX, capital expenditure, investment expenditure on the preparation and construction of the installation.
• DSCR, debt service coverage ratio, the basic covenant in project finance.
• IRR, internal rate of return, internal rate of return, at which the discounted value of cash flows is zero.
• LCOE, levelised cost of electricity, average cost of generating a unit of energy over the entire lifecycle of an installation, used for comparing technologies.
• NPV, net present value, net present value of project cash flows.
• OPEX, operational expenditure, operational costs incurred during the operational period.
• WACC, weighted average cost of capital, average weighted cost of capital used as a discount rate.

Support, market and regulations

• RES auctions, a support system based on auctions conducted by the President of the Energy Regulatory Office under the Act on renewable energy sources, where the producer commits to generating and selling a specified volume of energy.
• CEREMP, European register of wholesale energy market participants maintained for the purposes of the REMIT regulation; in Poland, registration is carried out with the President of the Energy Regulatory Office before concluding the first contract subject to reporting.
• CfD, contract for difference, a contract that settles the difference between a reference price and the market price. Poland’s auction-based support system is not a contract for difference, but it operates in a similar way: the producer applies for coverage of a negative balance, calculated as the difference between the value of the energy sold and its value determined according to the price from the winning auction offer (Article 93(1)(4) and (2)(3) of the Act on Renewable Energy Sources).
• CSRD, corporate sustainability reporting directive, Directive (EU) 2022/2464 on corporate sustainability reporting. The application dates and scope were changed by Directives (EU) 2025/794 and (EU) 2026/470, so check the obligation for a specific company and year.
• ESG, environmental, social, governance, collective term for environmental, social and corporate governance criteria used by investors and financiers.
• ETS, emissions trading system, EU emissions trading system established by Directive 2003/87/EC.
• EU ETS2, the second emissions trading system covering fuel combustion in buildings, road transport and additional sectors, introduced by Directive (EU) 2023/959; according to the European Commission it is to become fully operational in 2028.
• NFOŚiGW, National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management, an institution financing environmental and energy projects.
• REMIT, Regulation (EU) No 1227/2011 of 25 October 2011 on wholesale energy market integrity and transparency, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2024/1106, imposes registration and reporting obligations on market participants and prohibits manipulation in the wholesale energy market.
• Capacity market, a mechanism for rewarding readiness to supply capacity, operated under the Act of 8 December 2017 on the capacity market; you can check a given entity's participation in the URE register.
• Proof of origin certificates, commonly known as green certificates, are documents confirming the generation of electricity from renewable energy sources (Article 44 of the Act on Renewable Energy Sources); the right to them is granted for a further 15 years, no later than until 31 December 2035, so the system is time-limited, and new projects use auctions.
• TGE, Towarowa Giełda Energii, an organised market where exchange transactions for the sale of electricity and gas are concluded.
• URE, the Energy Regulatory Office, is the body supporting the President of URE, who grants licences, maintains registers of producers and conducts auctions; public data on licences can be found in the company card in the URE register.

Key points

• the abbreviation does not replace the definition from the contract: in transactional documents, the same abbreviation may be defined differently than in market practice,
• when dealing with statutory concepts, check the wording of the provision on the date that interests you, as definitions are often amended,
• market terms such as RTB have no statutory basis and require confirmation by documents,
• public data on licences and registers can be found in URE register, and the network context in the tool Available grid connection capacity,
• before first contact with the investor, organise documents according to the data room guide.

HWW materials for further reading

In the HWW law firm library you will find materials: Acquisition of a company with a licence: obligations upon change of owner, Asset deal vs share deal, transaction structure. Before applying in a specific case, check the current legal status and project documents.