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Polish Briefing 11 January, 2019 9:00 am   
COMMENTS: Mateusz Gibała

Polish Briefing: The energy strategy should be brought to the ground

What goes on in Poland on the 11th of January.

Czerwiński: The energy strategy should be brought to the ground

MP Andrzej Czerwiński from the Civic Platform, former Minister of Treasury, commented on the draft Poland’s energy strategy. – The nuclear program should not be marginalized. 6000 MW of nuclear until 2040 assumed in the previous strategy should be created. However, it was necessary to complete what we did, ie select locations, start selecting technology for it and consider financial assembly – emphasized Czerwiński.

– Everyone knows that we have a lot of coal underground. The problem is the cost of bringing it to the surface. They will grow from year to year. The mining conditions will also become more and more difficult. We will mine deeper and deeper, the danger of methane leakage will increase. Meanwhile, the extraction time per ton of coal will be extended, which will additionally increase the threat – the MP enumerated in an interview with BiznesAlert.pl.

– Assuming that the Polish Mining Group will extract 30 million tons of coal a year is a utopia. In 2017, 32 million were planned and only 30 million were extracted. In 2018, it was not even achieved – reminded Czerwiński. – We do not carry out the mining plan in the current conditions, let alone in the future?

NPP: First financing, technology and location

Meanwhile, Poland’s Energy Policy until 2040 assumes that in the energy mix there will be 60 percent of coal energy in 2030, and 30 percent in 2040. The reason is the development of nuclear energy. – I hope that public consultations will bring energy strategy to the ground. The easiest way is to say that we will do something in a few decades. Meanwhile, on the nuclear power plant team, the Ministry of Energy was not able to precisely outline the construction schedule for the coming years. There is no financing, technology or location. You must start with this.

– The nuclear program should not be marginalized. 6000 MW of nuclei until 2040 assumed in the previous strategy should be created. However, it was necessary to complete what we did, that is, choose the location, start choosing technology for it and consider financial assembly – emphasized Czerwiński in an interview with BiznesAlert.pl.

– The strategy mentions Renewable Energy Sources, but mainly offshore wind farms. Meanwhile, farms on land are the cheapest. If they do not enrich the mix in the coming years, it may turn out that there will be no money for it by spending on other sources: offshore, atom and coal. The Polish buyer is not ready to pay such a high price for energy security, especially considering the fact that there will be an alternative in the form of imports of energy from abroad – said the MP.

– The energy mix must include coal. There is nothing that can replace all carbon sources. By 2040, some part will remain. It will be 30-40 percent, but not more, because these are the realities. Renewable technologies are getting cheaper. Investing in them and energy storage is the future. We are not talking enough about demand management in Poland, that is, creating special conditions to reduce demand at the summit. The work on the smart grid for buying cheap energy in fifteen-minute intervals has been abandoned – the politician added. – Smart grid would allow the development of distributed energy, which is currently blocked, but should be an important element of the mix.