Abstract
Polish energy sector is (almost from its origin) dominated by fossil fuel feed power. This situation results from an abundance of relatively cheap coal (hard and lignite). Brown coal due to its nature is the cheapest energy source in Poland. However, hard coal which fuels 60% of polish power plants is picking up on prices and is susceptible to the coal imported from neighboring countries. Forced by the European Union (EU) regulations, Poland is struggling at achieving its goal of reaching 15% of energy consumption from renewable energy sources (RES) by 2020. Over the year 2015, RES covered 11.3% of gross energy consumption but this generation was dominated by solid biomass (over 80%). The aim of this paper was to answer the following research questions: What is the relation of irradiation values to the power load on a yearly and daily basis? and how should photovoltaics (PV) be integrated in the polish power system? Conducted analysis allowed us to state that there exists a negative correlation between power demand and irradiation values on a yearly basis, but this is likely to change in the future. Secondly, on average, daily values of irradiation tend to follow power load curve over the first hours of the day.
Highlights
International trends clearly indicate an increasing role of renewable energy sources in covering current and future demand on electric energy
Polish energy system is based on domestic fossil fuels, hard and brown coal, which enable Poland to generate over 83% of its electric energy [1]
The majority of wind parks are located near Baltic Sea whereas almost 40% of photovoltaic power plants are located in the eastern frontiers of Poland
Summary
International trends clearly indicate an increasing role of renewable energy sources in covering current and future demand on electric energy. Polish energy system is based on domestic fossil fuels, hard and brown coal, which enable Poland to generate over 83% of its electric energy [1]. Specificity of hard and brown coal fueled power plants predisposed them to be large baseload power plants which have a limited ability to swiftly ramp output or reduce power generation [2]. According to the URE (Energy Regulatory Authority) [3] data, by the end of the year 2015, Poland had 200 MW installed capacity in biogas power plants, 51 MW in photovoltaic systems, 982 MW in hydropower plants, 1033 MW in biomass power plants, 4.253 GW in wind parks, and 44 power units realizing technology of cogeneration whose installed capacity cannot be determined. The majority of wind parks are located near Baltic Sea whereas almost 40% of photovoltaic power plants are located in the eastern frontiers of Poland
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