During the 4th Energy Congress in Wrocław, taking place under the patronage of the BiznesAlert.pl, Monika Morawiecka, the head of the Strategy Department of the Polska Grupa Energetyczna and Member of the Management Board of the Polish Electricity Association appeared and explained why it makes sense to invest in the Renewable Energy Sources.
– Our first pain point is the pressure by the European Union. We have a mandatory target for 2020 and the targets for 2030 will come. We simply have to obey what we are told to do. It is our national trait to dislike to be told to do things and it results in defensive reactions, for example in the energy sector – she said. “2030 is the EU-wide target without breakdown into the targets for the individual Member States. However, if we dig deeper into the proposals for the management of the European Union, we will see that the target will be revised around 2023 when setting the national targets is not unthinkable. It is not so, that nothing has to be done. They will be watching us closely though we do not like it – warned Morawiecka.
– In addition, there is the economic pressure caused by two factors. Both are beyond our control. One is not to our liking, the other should be. The first is the CO2 prices that result in conventional energy becoming ever more expensive. This is taking away our investment funds. And we will always be stressing that it is not the right way. It is a reality we do not like, but it’s here and we cannot ignore it – judged the panel participant. – The next factor is the decreasing cost of renewable energy technologies. It is a new factor; just a few years ago it was not so obvious. Some years ago when the first version of the RES Act was in the works, the PGE was raising strong objections. The cost of technology has decreased nearly threefold over this time. This is a positive element resulting from technological progress. We can no longer keep saying that the RES are bad because they are expensive. They are difficult, as they are not dispatchable, but not expensive any longer – she added.
– In the future, the energy mix with a higher share of the RES will be less expensive than the one with a higher share of conventional sources. To this, I would also add the public pressure – stated Morawiecka. According to the panellist, the customers will be increasingly interested in buying the RES energy. – We have many companies exporting around the world and the pressure for this will be increasing. If we do not alter our energy mix in this direction, these companies perhaps will lose their interest in investing in Poland.
– And all that is supplemented by the security of supply in the sense that the RES is not consuming coal – she pointed out. She reminded that gas is still to a large extent imported and the RES do not require fuels. – There are many weak points but the number of strong points is increasing – she concluded.