Tightening its purse strings, Polenergia managed to stay afloat. But its shares had taken a beating, and another test came quickly. In May 2018, the state-controlled power giant Polska Grupa Energetyczna offered to buy the company outright for about $170 million. It made sense to investors, and the stock popped. But determined to retain control and flush with brewery cash, Kulczyk countered with a higher offer that valued the company at $250 million. PGE backed off.
Since Kulczyk rescued it, Polenergia has kept building wind farms , expanded into solar and is now exploring green hydrogen. It booked a $70 million profit in the 12 months ending September 2022 on $1.7 billion in revenue. Two giant wind farms it’s developing in the Baltic Sea with the $150 billion Norwegian energy giant Equinor are slated to come online soon.
Long-term, though, Polenergia’s prospects should be excellent. Poland, one of Europe’s most coal-dependent countries, saw renewable electricity generation reach a new record in 2022 as it scrambled to plug the Russia-sized hole left in its energy supply. Wind power generation increased nearly 22% last year compared to the year before, while the country cut coal consumption by 2.7% and gas use by more than 20%, according to data from the U.K.-based think tank Ember.