The Polish 'Development Strategy for Renewables', approved by the Council of Ministers in 2000 and by Parliament in 2001, called for a 7.5% contribution of renewable energy to total primary-energy production in 2010, and 14% in 2020 as development targets for renewables. The purpose of this project was to investigate further what this Strategy meant in terms of the types and amounts of renewable-energy (RE) systems that would need to be installed and the support mechanisms that would need to be put in place to enable this to happen. Development scenarios for RE to 2020 were elaborated and their financial, environmental and social implications were calculated with the Strategic Assessment Framework for the Implementation of Rational Energy (SAFIRE) computer model, devised by Energy for Sustainable Development Ltd (ESD, UK). (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.