Poland still produces well over 80% of energy from hard coal, the politicians keep trying to convince us that it is the cheapest fuel. Is the Polish coal truly that cheap?   

Between 1990-2012 annual coal subsidies in Poland fluctuated around 70 bln pln reaching in total 170 000 billion which is approx. the country’s annual GDP. Every Polish citizen (including children!) pays an extra 1876 pln a year (little less than monthly minimal wage) to support coal production: debt relief for unprofitable mines, miners’ pensions, salaries and social benefits. Big energy corporations are also financed by taxpayers’ money – we pay them so that they could profit from unprofitable and harmful production of energy, for which we are billed in the end.      

Health lost and premature deaths are all among external cost of coal combustion which were estimated at 1,5 trillion pln in 1990-2012. If we included them into energy price, we would have to pay 100-500 pln more for MWh!

Growing awareness of climate change and its impact on human and environment, international climate agreements and changes in world’s economy are major factors shaping the policy of biggest banks. World Bank, HSBC, Nordic Investment Bank have decided not to risk investing in coal and lignite. New criteria adopted by the European Investment Bank include low-emission of greenhouse gases, one that cannot be met by coal-fired power plants. The World Bank refused to support construction of new power plants and categorically denies that coal projects help to fight poverty, a statement repeated by coal lobbyists, as external costs of health lost an climate change increase poverty. Following the Paris Climate Agreement from 2015, ING announced that it would not finance any new coal.

Climate change stems from rapid increase in greenhouse gases (such as carbon dioxide and methane) in the atmosphere. It is beyond any scientific doubts that global warming is in fact caused by human activities – combustion of fossil fuels such as coal, lignite, oil and gas. Coal is a major source of GHG – it is responsible for 44% of global emissions of CO₂. Leading scientists and world leaders agree that climate change is the greatest threat humanity has ever faced. Rising see level, extreme weather, epidemics, hunger and shortage of water, migration of nations, wars and deaths of millions will all be brought about by global warming. Only keeping it well below 2°C will enable the survival of our civilization yet this will be possible under one condition – w must immediately quit burning fossil fuels, including coal.       

The Północ Power Plant is not the only one in trouble.

Czeczott Power Plant was to be built in 2016 in Silesia. In 2015 its owner – Kompania Węglowa – announced suspension of the project worth 6 billion pln, the reasons for this decision being unfavorable financial condition an opposition of local communities.  

Łęczna Power Plant worth 3,5 billion would be built near the Polesie National Park and the West Polesie Biosphere Reserve. Protests of environmental NGOs finally lead to French company ENGIE (former GDF Suez) withdrawing from this project as unprofitable and controversial. 

Though coal combustion is one of the main causes of pollution and climate change, ‘clean coal’ burnt in modern power plants with CCS has recently become a buzzword in Poland. The truth is rather harsh – clan coal does not exist. New power plants, however modern, also pollute environment and opening a new facility does not mean that any old one will be closed. According to doctors there are no safe limits of pollutants such as mercury or particular matter, and the permitted levels are far too high and dangerous to human health.     

Some promise that coal will become climate-friendly if CCS filters are installed. Carbon Capture and Storage is an experimental technology which does not work yet and requires combustion of 20-30% more coal which means more pollution. It is also very expensive which would translate into severe increase in energy prices. CCS cannot replace decarbonisation. Even new coal power plants emit 15 times more CO₂ than renewables.

The Report „Fuelling the Fire” released in 2016 by Friends of the Earth International clearly shows how dangerous CCS is for climate and our planet.

Euro between 2008-2013. RWE, E.ON and Engie (former GDF Suez) used to be based on coal but they are changing their profile.  

German E.ON has withdrawn from coal and nuclear energy and focuses on developing renewable energy.

French company Engie which was to build the Łęczna power plant in Poland, quit this project in 2015 and keeps investing in clean energy. 

Swedish Vattenfall has sold off their coal assets in Germany, though this movement has been heavily criticized as hypocritical –  instead of getting rid of mines and power plants, which will in fact prolong coal combustion in this country, Vattnfall should have closed them.   

Even the owner of Elektrownia Północ Project – Polenergia – announced in 2014 that it would focus on win and gas, while unprofitable and risky, coal projects are no longer the company’s priority. 

In the age of catastrophic climate change it is extremely immoral to support fossil fuels. That is why many leading institutions, companies and individuals divest from dirty energy. Among those who support going Fossil Free are institutions such as the Stanford University, religious organizations, communities and whole cities (such as Seattle, San Francisco and Oxford). The movement was backed up by the UN Secretary General, president Barack Obama, economist Noam Chomsky and many artists including Leonardo DiCaprio, Natalie Portman an Darren Aronofsky. The Norwegian parliament withdrew 900 billion dollars from coal while ‘The Guardian’ divested 800 million pounds and has its own campaign Keep it in the ground. Up till now organizations divested more than 50 billion dollars, individuals more than 1 billion, while the investors more than 2,6 trillion.  

Pomerania’s potential for development of renewable energy is so great that the region is called a basin of sun and wind. It’s fine agriculture makes it also great for small biogas plants where gas is produced form organic waste. Renewable energy has been recognized as a golden opportunity for the region which was confirmed in the Regional Strategic Programme for energy and environment for years 2014-2020 Ecoefective Pomerania. According to this official document by 2020 300 million euro will have been invested in distributed generation of renewable energy and energy efficiency.       

Though subsequent Polish governments have shown little to no political interest in development of renewable energy in Poland, some local communities have been investing in new technologies based on renewables.

Brzeziny have a chance to become the first energy-independent city in Poland disconnect from the corporate grid. Energy is provided by a solar power plant and vertical windmills, investments in energy efficiency, LED lighting and local grid will complete the work.  

In 2014 the Kisielice municipality won the ManagEnergy Award granted by the European Commissions for outstanding achievements in developing local sustainable energy projects.    

‘Smart Peninsula’ is a project which will connect prosumers from the Hel Peninsula into a smart grid.

The city of Słupsk is becoming the Polish leader in sustainable development. The authorities support many projects which will cut emissions and provide the citizens with clean energy. They estimated that replacing the light bulbs with LEDs only in the main building of the City Council would save 35-50 000 pln annually.

There are approximately 35 thousand green jobs in Poland created by renewable energy. They encourage young people to stay in their homeland and may become a game changer for many women who can start a career in this sector. It is estimated that by 2020 this number may have reached 350 thousand, the market of micro-installations may be worth 26 billion and 2,5 million of citizens may become prosumers. This huge potential may be realized only if the government starts supporting energy transformation instead of actively blocking it at every possible level.    

Having its own source of energy is crucial for every country’s energy safety, which is why coal is so strongly associated with Poland’s independence. However, as our domestic resources are shrinking, mining an energy sector is highly unprofitable an generates gigantic loses as well as major environmental pollution, coal has become a problem rather than a solution. What the Polish society is unaware of is the fact that we already import coal from abroad, including Chile and Argentina. The fuel for Elektrownia Północ would most probably be bought from Russia. On the contrary renewable energy can be produced from local sources which guarantee true safety and independence from foreign policies and unstable markets.     

A great window of opportunity opens for the region of Kociewe where Elektrownia Północ is planned. A program of low-carbon development, a first of its kind in Poland, has been prepared for the Sarogard county – Green Kociewie 2030. If implemented, the program would not only transform the county into a leader of low-carbon solutions, climate mitigation an adaptation, but would also create green jobs, help fight air pollution and provide the citizens with opportunities to save money on energy bills.          

The program is available in Polish: download full version

Slowly but surely, modern world is leaving fossil fuels behind. China and the USA, the largest economies known for being the main emitters of greenhouse gases, are now becoming leading investors in renewable energy sources. But the true leaders od climate-friendly energy are smaller countries like Costa Rica and Lesotho, which have become the first to turn 100% renewable. Among the runners up are Bhutan, Paraguay, Albania and Island with 99,9% and another 13 countries, Norway, Nepal, Mozambique and Zambia among them, cover more than 90% of their energy needs from clean sources. Yet another 37 have reached the level of at least 50%, this including Sweden, Lithuania, Canada, Austria and Denmark, the latter is planning to turn 100% renewable by 2035. 

Due to its impact on climate, environment and human health as well as the fact, that it is not a renewable source of energy, energy derived from coal is becoming more and more expensive, its era coming to an inevitable end. Prices of renewable technologies are falling, currently in the EU the cheapest source of energy is wind. While Poland is running out of domestic coal and air pollution makes it one of the most polluted countries of the continent, energy prices are going up by 3% a year and are among the highest in the EU. If we add the estimated 34 bln pln the Polish economy loses because of health costs of coal combustion, renewables beats its fossil competition.

Energy revolution is the industrial revolution of XXI century. Companies like Tesla are already shaping the future of energy and transportation, their share prices soaring and beating their competition. Few are aware, though, that Polish scientists and inventors are among those who turn the science fiction of yesterday into today’s reality.

Her research on perovskite – a mineral used in solar technologies – made Olga Malinkiewicz a science superstar. The young Polish physicist has started her own company with an ambitious goal to use her groundbreaking invention for commercial purposes – produce solar panels that could cover every possible surface.     

The new, relatively cheap way of graphene production is also a Polish invention which may revolutionize energy production.  

Sadly, all this brilliant people must seek opportunities to develop their ideas abroad, as the Polish government is not interested in investing in any technology that would put coal combustion in danger.

Renewable energy creates more jobs than fossil fuels. It was estimated that every million dollars invested in clean energy creates 17 jobs while the same amount spent on fossil fuels – only 5. In the UK renewables create 10 times more jobs than conventional sources of energy. Currently as many as 7,7 million people work in renewables, including 1,2 million in the USA, roughly the same number in the EU and 2,64 in China. According to the US Department of Labor green jobs present a golden opportunity in terms of career for women and help in fighting gender inequalities.      

Examples from many countries show that it is perfectly feasible for Poland to meet its energy needs from clean energy sources. Not only exotic countries with strong insolation can turn 100% renewable.  

In July 2015 Germany produced 78% energy from renewables, on May 11^th 2016 it reached nearly 100%. On average the country produces 28% of energy prom renewable sources annually. In the first half of 2014 it was 81 TWh – as much energy as Poland used during the same time period (produced mostly from coal).   

Poland and Germany share the same climatic conditions, the only difference being their energy policy. If we invested in development of renewables and energy efficiency we could reduce our energy loses even by 70% and turn 75% renewables by 2050. Pomerania is the region of Poland which has one of the best conditions for producing green energy. And it is not only about wind or sun – 20 % of heat could be produced from agricultural waste such as straw, while manure and organic waste could produce 23% of electricity the region needs. Saying that Pomerania will face blackout unless a coal power plant is built in no more than political sham.