The Polish power industry in energy transformation process

Abstract

The article presents the present state of the electricity sector and the hard coal mining sector in Poland. Priorities for the future structure of electricity generation have been determined in the context of trends in the EU climate policy. Poland has significant reserves of coal, which will be used to produce electricity in order to secure the country’s energy security and to make use of indigenous resources. Despite the current economic and financial difficulties of mining entities, the government has declared its support for hard coal mining industry. This is due to the fact that enormous investment outlays, exceeding the financial capabilities of the energy sector and the country, would be needed in order to fundamentally change the fuel structure of the sector. Due to the fact that coal-fired power plants, which now account for more than 46% of all power generation capacity, are deeply decapitalized and do not meet the EU emission requirements, the possibility of upgrading the existing units in order to improve their generation efficiency and extend their service life for the next several dozen years is explored. The Polish energy transition towards a low-carbon economy is largely based on energy-saving ideas and efforts to increase the energy efficiency. There has also been a great increase in the production of renewable energy, especially wind power, which, however, is the reason for problems with the stability of power grids and the balance of supply and demand. The development of renewable energy sources used in local energy clusters is the preferred option. The presented scenarios have not yet been confirmed in the official documents of the Polish government. The government faces the task of building the long-term energy policy and energy transformation strategy that should take into account internal and external determinants and priorities. At the same time, it is important to negotiate the path of development that is consistent with the direction of the changes proposed by the European Union and takes into account the capabilities of Poland.