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What goes on in Poland on the 17th of May.
The last coal block went into operation
After Poland gave up coal at the Ostrołęka C Power Plant, the sixth coal-fired unit at the Turów Power Plant, put into operation on May 14, became the last unit of this type in this country. It will become part of the National Agency for Energy Security.
“On May 14, the new Turów Power Plant unit was officially commissioned. This is the last installation of this type in the portfolio of Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE), and in the country. The contract for the construction of a new power unit was signed in 2014. The PGE GiEK company, which owns the Turoszów power plant, has implemented this investment with the utmost care, and will meet the strictest EU emission standards. The new block uses the latest technologies, which will allow for obtaining high efficiency of electricity production and a significant reduction in CO2 emissions compared to older generation units. The new block will ensure the security of electricity supplies during the transformation of the Polish energy sector towards renewable energy sources,” Wioletta Czemiel-Grzybowska, president of the management board of PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna, said.
PGE GiEK reports that the unit in Turów will be the most modern unit fired with conventional fuels among the assets of the planned new entity, which will collect all domestic coal assets. The National Agency for Energy Security is to subsidize units of this type in relation to the climate policy, which excludes their profitability even in the case of the new unit in Turów, which only emits 800 grams of CO2 per kilowatt hour.
Polish New Deal presented. Nothing new for energy
The New Deal program of the ruling coalition puts emphasis on social policy funded by the EU Reconstruction Fund. It lacks provisions on innovations in the energy sector, which may become the foundation of Poland’s economic development in times of crisis.
The New Deal does not offer new ideas on the use of the EU Recovery Fund for energy. It emphasizes that nuclear energy is to be a tool in Poland’s pursuit of climate neutrality. The United Right has not declared a deadline for achieving climate neutrality. It is worth noting that the decision on the Polish nuclear program has been held back since 2015 by fractional disputes within the United Right. For this reason, the first reactor is to be completed only in 2033, without reducing Poland’s dependence on gas in the 2020s and forcing it to import 2,1-3,8 billion cubic meters of gas from the territory of the European Union or Russia in 2023, i.e. the election year. A possible dispute over supplies from Gazprom could be a destabilizing factor ahead of the parliamentary elections at that time.
