Environmental charges levied on power plants

Abstract

The aim of the article is to analyze the financial burden on energy sector in Poland resulting from charges on the use of the environment. The estimation of the amount of charges paid by the power plants is based on data on emissions of basic pollutants from this sector. The starting point for the analysis is the brief evaluation of the impact of Polish energy sector on the environment. The impact is quite significant due the fact that electricity generation is mainly based on solid fuels, such as hard coal and lignite. The environmental consequences of such energy production method are large emissions of gases and dust. During the electricity production process large amounts of waste are also generated (e.g. slag, ash). In addition, the energy sector extracts the water and discharges wastewater into the water or soil. The study shows that power plants pay all four kinds of charges for the use of the environment, such as air pollution charges, water abstraction charges, landfill charges and water pollution charges. Particularly important are charges for gases that are emitted into the atmosphere. The charges paid by the energy sector account for a significant proportion of revenues from charges on the use of the environment.