Tuesday, September 15, 2020

Nuclear energy will replace Polish coal


 Poland plans to start construction of its first nuclear power plant to partially disconnect from energy production using coal.

Climate Minister Michał Kurtyka said that Poland will reduce its dependence on coal in favor of renewable energy sources and nuclear power. Almost PLN 150 billion is to be invested in nuclear energy, and the first reactor is to start operating in 2033 - writes "Le Figaro", referring to Poland's new energy strategy for 2040.

Poland is the only EU country that did not declare its intention to achieve climate neutrality in 2050 at the EU summit in July, and the ruling Law and Justice party claimed several years ago that coal will remain the main source of energy in 2060, because more time and resources are needed to switch to clean energy.

The high charges for CO2 emissions, which make a production of energy from coal very expensive,  and the EU climate policy are forcing Warsaw to accelerate the energy transformation.

Therefore, Poland is revising its position. This transformation, requiring large investments, must also be accepted in a country where almost 100,000 jobs depend on coal while creation of 300,000 jobs by nuclear sector is disputable and won't happen right away.

Hopefully recently signed cooperation agreement between Poland and the USA on nuclear energy will help with the transformation.