Poland seeks to accelerate decarbonisation

The Polish climate ministry has released for consultation its draft plan to increase investment in renewable energy and accelerate the country's exit from coal.

The share of coal — including lignite — in Poland's total electricity generation would fall to 22pc by 2030, from about 61pc in 2023, according to the ministry's ambitious decarbonisation scenario, due to be published for public consultation this week. In this scenario, the share of renewables would rise to 56pc by 2030 from 23pc last year, the ministry said.

The decarbonisation scenario is included in the draft of Poland's national energy and climate plan (NECP), which it intends to notify to the European Commission this month.

NECPs are EU member states' national planning documents defining their decarbonisation targets and allowing the commission to monitor overall EU climate policies.

The scenario is more ambitious than in an earlier Polish NECP, which it shared with the commission in March. The earlier plan indicated that renewables' share in the electricity sector will rise to 50.1pc by 2030.

An acceleration of decarbonisation and more ambitious investments in renewables will eventually lead to lower electricity prices and increase the competitiveness of the Polish economy, the climate ministry said.

The share of coal in Poland's power mix has declined sharply this year because of a surge in solar and wind power generation. Hard coal accounted for about 41pc of total Polish electricity generation in January-July, compared with 46pc over the same period last year, according to data from grid operator PSE.

The feasibility of several coal-fired power plants will decrease from 2026, when the country's current capacity payment support mechanism ends and eligibility for another payment scheme is yet to be decided.

Tomasz Stepien