Poland and coal

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{{#badges: CoalSwarm|Navbar-Polandandcoal}} 80% of Poland's electricity is generated from coal.[1] The government, using the slogan ‘Poland stands on coal’,[2] claims it is a strategic fuel guaranteeing energy security.[3] However in December 2018 Poland will host the COP24 climate change conference.

Overview

In 2017, of the 170TWh of electricity generated, hard coal accounted for about half and lignite just over 30%.[4]

The governing party is supported by the politically powerful coal industry, and 100,000 Polish jobs are estimated to be related to coal.[5]

While the Polish coal industry remains a substantial producer, the industry has undergone a dramatic restructuring with production falling by approximately one third between 1988 and 1998.

The future of the domestic coal mining industry is therefore tied to the power generation industry, which itself is in the midst of a major shake-up. The Austrian Energy Council points out that the existing generation capacity is aging which it states "is becoming an increasingly serious problem".

"More than half of the current capacity was built in the 1970s. Approximately 60% of the system is more than 15 years old, and 40% is more than 20 years old. More than 1.5 GWe has been in operation for more than 30 years. This problem has been exacerbated by insufficient expenditure on maintenance and modernization projects. PSE has estimated that by 2005, over 20 GWe of capacity will need rehabilitation while almost 3 GWe will need to be retired. Rehabilitation costs, including environmental protection costs, are estimated between $50 and $350 per kW of capacity. Additionally, there are plans in place to expand the existing transmission and distribution networks. These investments in the electricity industry are estimated to cost around $50 billion over the next 15 years.

Poland, the EU, and climate negotiations

Poland and Germany and coal are the EU’s biggest consumers of coal.

In 2011, Poland drew sharp criticism when it blocked EU plans to raise its goal for reducing carbon emissions. At 20 percent by 2020, Poland already exceeds the bloc's commitment under the Kyoto Protocol.

In 2018 Poland sued to try to avoid new EU pollution rules.[6]

Health costs of coal

A 2013 report by the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL) found that burning coal to produce electricity costs Europeans €42.8 billion (US $55 billion) in health care costs annually. About €8 billion of that is Poland. The new report is based on a calculation of the costs associated with premature deaths resulting from exposure to coal-related air pollution, medical visits, hospitalizations, medication and reduced activity, including working days lost.[7]

Coal mining

In 2005 Poland mined approximately 159 million tonnes of coal according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Of this, just over 61 million tonnes was brown coal and lignite and the remainder bituminous coal.[8] In 2004 approximately 58.7% of the country's installed generation capacity was publicly-owned power stations burning hard coal while a further 25.4% operated on lignite.

Poland aims to continue mining lignite after 2040.[9] In 2005, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and Finland were (in order of value) the major importers of Polish coal. The upper Silesian, the lower Silesian, and the Lublin Basins have exploitable resources that amounted to 43,32 Mt of coal in 32 deposits. the upper Silesian Basin represented the major portion of the country's total reserves, hosting about 79% of the total in 110 deposits."[10]

The British Geological survey states that over 76 million tonnes of bituminous coal and 56.5 million tonnes of lignite coal were extracted in 2010.[11]

Coal reserves

According to European Association for Coal and Lignite (Euracoal), a coal industry lobbying group, Poland has hard coal reserves totalling 16.9 billion tonnes, mainly located in Upper Silesia and in the Lublin basin. Mineable lignite reserves amount to almost 15 billion tonnes.[12]

Coal imports

According to data by the European Association for Coal and Lignite (EUROCOAL), Poland became a net importer of coal in the 2000s. In 2010, imports of coal amounted to 13.4 million tonnes.[13]

Coal plants

Poland’s largest utility, PGE, is extremely dependent on coal.[14] Click here for a list of coal plants in Poland (compiled by Greenpeace).

Proposed Coal-Fired Power Stations

  • Bielsko Biala Power Station is a complex of coal-fired combined heat and power plants at Czechowice-Dziedzice near Bielsko-Biała, Poland. The complex is operated by Południowy Koncern Energetyczny, a subsidiary of the Tauron Group. In 2009, it was announced that Tauron Group is planning to build a new generation unit with power capacity of 50MW and thermal capacity of 150MW. Operation is planned for March 2013.[15]
  • Gubin Power Project is a proposed new lignite coal mine and 1,800-2,700MW coal power station in the Gubin area by state-owned Polska Grupa Energetyczna, "if climate policy allows for economic validity of the project," according to the company's 2012 strategy report. The station has a proposed commercial operation date of 2030. Project plans include possible extension of the new plant with CCS.[16]
  • Jaworzno Power Station is a 1.35GW coal power station with six units at Jaworzno, Poland. It is owned by the Tauron Group.[17] Tauron is looking for bidders to build an additional 800-910 MW unit at the power plant, planned for 2018.[18]
  • Kozienice Power Station is a coal-fired thermal power station in Świerże Górne near Kozienice, Poland. It is Poland's second largest power station with an installed capacity of 2,820 MW (ten units). It is owned by Grupa Energetyczna Enea SA (Enea).[19] Enea plans for an additional €1.3 billion coal-fired unit at the station with an installed capacity of 1000 MW. Construction will start in 2012. Enea group has also signed a PLN 22.5 million (€5.2 million) coal supply agreement with Bogdanka coal mine, expiring in 2036.[20]
  • Ostroleka Power Station is a coal-fired thermal power station in Ostrołęka owned by Energa. It consists of two parts: the Ostrołęka A combined heat and power plant with installed capacity of 93MW electricity and 456MW of heat was built in 1956. The Ostrołęka B power station was built in 1972. It consists of three units with combined installed capacity of 647MW.[26] There is a plan to build a 1,000 MW Ostrołęka C unit by 2015.[26][27] It would be supplied by coal from the Bogdanka Coal Mine.[26]
  • Patnow II Power Station is a 464 megawatt unit proposed by Zespol Elektrowni Patnow-Adamow-Konin, S.A. with a contracted commissioning date of December 31, 2007.[28]
  • Piast Ruch Power Station is a proposal by RWE for a 800 megawatt power station to be built on the Piast Ruch II coal mine in the village of Wola in Silesia. The project will be a joint venture between RWE and Kompania Węglowa, which owns the minesite and will supply the coal. It is proposed that the 1.5 billion euro project be commissioned in 2015.[29] In June 2008 RWE and Kompania Węglowa stated that the project would consume approximately 2.5 million tonnes of locally produced hard coal a year. The joint venturers have flagged that they are aiming to get approvals for the project in 2009-2010. [30]
  • Polnoc Power Station is a 2000 MW coal power plant proposed by Elektrownia Polnoc, an affiliate of Kulczyk Investments, for the Pomerania region of Northern Poland. In December 2011, the company entered into a long-term agreement with Lubelski Węgiel Bogdanka SA for coal supply to Elektrownia Północ.[31] It is planned for the plant to be operational after 2016 at an estimated cost of EUR 3.1-3.8 billion.[32]
  • Rybnik Power Station is a 1775 MW plant on the outskirts of Rybnik, Silesia, owned by the Polish power company EDF Group.[33] EDF is constructing a new 900 MW supercritical coal-fired power plant at the site. The project, slated for 2017, will involve the replacement of the four oldest units at the existing Rybnik plant.[34]
  • Tychy Power Station is a coal-powered station in Tychy, Poland owned by the Tauron Group. By 2016, Tauron plans to build another coal-fired heat and power unit at the station with the capacity to generate 50 megawatts of electricity and 86 megawatts of thermal energy.[36]
  • Zofiowka Power Station is a planned 70 MW coal-fired power station in Tarnow, Poland, by Spolka Energetyczna Jastrzebie. It is expected to be completed by 2015.[37]
  • an unnamed power station has been proposed by GE to have an installed capacity of 900 megawatts at a cost of 787 million euros. The plant would be an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) project.

Coal Mines

In 2018 the Energy Ministry stated that currently exploited deposits will start to decline by 2030, and therefore that Zloczew and possibly also Oscislowo lignite deposits will be developed.[4]:

Coal mining project approved

In June 2011, New World Resources (NWR), the biggest Czech coking-coal supplier, said its board of directors gave final approval to extract coal from the Debiensko mine in Poland. NWR expects to begin the project by the end of 2011, and extracting coal by 2017. The company's feasibility study indicated the mine had reserves of about 190 million metric tons, for an average annual production of 2 million tons. Total investment in the mine will reach 411 million euros ($584 million).

Seven-eighths of the mine’s reserves are coking coal and one-eighth is the less profitable thermal coal, the feasibility study shows. NWR has a 50-year mining license, granted in 2008, to extract coal from Debiensko. The company also applied for a license to mine additional coal seams at the site and expects to receive approval for that project by mid-2012, it said.[38]

Coal mine construction stopped

On March 12, 2009, Greenpeace International announced that the construction of a new coal mine in Tomislawice had been halted. Following from a Greenpeace legal challenge in December 2008, a Polish court found possible illegalities in the project's environmental assessment process. Construction has been suspended pending an investigation. The new mine would result in about 50 million tonnes of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere.[39]

EU coal phase out

Like all EU members, the country has a legally-binding clean energy target. Silesia is a "Coal Region in Transition"[40] but the national government list of proposed beneficiaries of EU funding has been criticized for only containing state-owned fossil fuel companies.[41]

Articles and Resources

Sources

  1. ↑ "Poland - Energy System Overview", IEA, accessed June 2018
  2. ↑ Magdalena Kuchler & Gavin Bridge,"Down the black hole: Sustaining national socio-technical imaginaries of coal in Poland" Energy Research & Social Science Volume 41, July 2018, Pages 136-147
  3. ↑ "Climate and energy policies in Poland" European Parliament briefing, Sept. 2017
  4. ↑ Jump up to: 4.0 4.1 "Poland approves lignite strategy", Platts, 5 June 2018
  5. ↑ "Dark clouds in Poland" New Internationalist, 14 June 2018
  6. ↑ "ClientEarth moves to defend new EU rules from 'inexcusable' coal industry attack" ClientEarth, Feb 28, 2018.
  7. ↑ Alex Kirby, "Coal burning exacts a lethal price - report," Climate News Network, March 7, 2013.
  8. ↑ Walter G. Steblez, "The Mineral Industries of Central Europe: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia", 2005 Minerals Yearbook, U.S. Geological Survey, page 17.
  9. ↑ "Poland approves lignite strategy", Platts, 5 June 2018
  10. ↑ Walter G. Steblez, "The Mineral Industries of Central Europe: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia", 2005 Minerals Yearbook, U.S. Geological Survey, page 7.
  11. ↑ "European Mineral Statistics: 2006-2010," British Geological Survey, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Poland," Eurocoal, accessed Nov. 2012.
  13. ↑ Daan Bauwens, "Poland Clings On to Coal," Inter Press News Service, July 2, 2012.
  14. ↑ "IEEFA Europe: As risks mount, Poland’s PGE struggles to break from its fossil fuel past" IEEFA, 14 June 2018
  15. ↑ "Tauron to build new power unit for Bielsko Biala power station", PMR (2009-04-17). Retrieved on 2010-11-30. 
  16. ↑ "Creating value and safe future PGE Group Strategy 2012-2035," PGE, Feb. 2012.
  17. ↑ "History: We build modernity based on 100-year-long tradition," Tauron website, accessed Sep. 2012.
  18. ↑ "Power group Tauron again puts off deadline for EUR 1.1bn Jaworzno unit," GoWarsaw.eu, August 13, 2012.
  19. ↑ "Enea: About Us: Power Plant specifications," Enea website, accessed September 2012.
  20. ↑ "Enea to start a 1000MW coal-fired project in 2012," Cleantech Poland, January 24, 2012.
  21. ↑ "ClientEarth Summary Briefing of Analysis of Polish National Investment Plan for Article 10c) ETS Directive application for transitional free allowances," ClientEarth Summary Briefing, July 2, 2012.
  22. ↑ Nathaniel Espino, "Poland’s PGE, GDF Suez Agree to Build Coal-Fired Power Plant" Bloomberg BusinessWeek, June 16, 2010.
  23. ↑ "Creating value and safe future PGE Group Strategy 2012-2035," PGE, Feb. 2012.
  24. ↑ http://www.pgesa.pl/en/InvestorRelations/Documents/PGE%20Group%20strategy%202012_2035_presentation.pdf "Creating value and safe future PGE Group Strategy 2012-2035,"] PGE, Feb. 2012.
  25. ↑ Chris Borowski and Agnieszka Barteczko, "UPDATE 2-Polish utility PGE scraps $3.6 bln coal power project," Reuters, April 5, 2013
  26. ↑ Jump up to: 26.0 26.1 26.2 "Polish coal miner Bogdanka to supply Ostroleka power plant", Platts (2010-10-20). Retrieved on 2010-12-04. 
  27. ↑ "Energa upgrading Ostroleka power station", Construction Sector in Poland, PMR (2008-06-30). Retrieved on 2010-12-04. 
  28. ↑ ZE PAK, "History of the Construction Project", ZE PAK website, accessed July 2008.
  29. ↑ RWE, "RWE planning to invest 1.5 billion euros in Polish power generation sector", Media Release, June 12, 2008.
  30. ↑ RWE, "Press Meeting of RWE and Kompania Węglowa", June 12, 2008, pages 10-11. (Large Pdf file).
  31. ↑ "Energy: Elektrownia Północ Sp. z o.o.," Kulczyk Investments website, accessed Oct. 2012.
  32. ↑ "Pólnoc coal power plant," Bankwatch, accessed Oct. 2012.
  33. ↑ "EDF Rybnik," EDF, accessed Sep. 2012.
  34. ↑ "EDF will build in Rybnik, Poland, a highly efficient 900 MW supercritical coal-fired power plant," EDF, May 12, 2011.
  35. ↑ "Creating value and safe future PGE Group Strategy 2012-2035," PGE, Feb. 2012.
  36. ↑ "Tauron Gets State Funding to Switch Coal-Fired Plant to Biomass," Bloomberg, April 12, 2012.
  37. ↑ "Tender for new power unit at Elektrocieplownia Zofiowka pencilled in for near future," PMR, Dec. 19, 2011.
  38. ↑ Ladka Bauerova, "New World Resources Board Gives Final Approval to Debiensko Mine" Bloomberg, Jun 20, 2011.
  39. ↑ "VICTORY! Polish coal mine construction halted," Greenpeace International, March 12, 2009.
  40. ↑ "Coal Regions in Transition Platform", European Commission, 4 June 2018
  41. ↑ "The European Commission’s platform for coal regions in transition: case studies highlight tilt toward coal companies", Bankwatch, June 2018

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