New energy policy will set off the green revolution

Transformation of Polish energy sector is a chance for massive investments co-financed from EU funds and new jobs.

Aktualizacja: 03.09.2021 15:45 Publikacja: 08.09.2020 08:00

New energy policy will set off the green revolution

Foto: Fotorzepa/Piotr Guzik

'The new version of the national energy policy presented by the Ministry of Climate has shown the directions of changes in the area of energy until 2040. Now, specific investment decisions are needed to drive the national economy,' said the participants of the debate "Poland's Energy Policy until 2040 - Challenges and Opportunities" during the Economic Forum in Karpacz.

'A transformation is coming, as a result of which by 2030 one out of three megawatt hours of energy consumed in Poland will be green energy. By developing renewable energy sources and focusing even more on the thermal modernisation of buildings, we have a chance for massive investments and creation of 300,000 jobs,' argued Michał Kurtyka, the Minister of Climate.

The new draft energy strategy assumes the construction of a new zero-emission energy system, based mainly on offshore wind energy (with the prospect of building 8 to 11 GW of power by 2040) and nuclear energy (6 to 9 GW). 'We plan to electrify other sectors: heating and transport. Between 2030 and 2040, we want to eliminate the most air-polluting fuels in residential heating. Public transport in cities with over 100,000 inhabitants will be changed to a zero-emission one,' announced Kurtyka.

Jerzy Kwieciński, President of Polskie Górnictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo, stressed that gas would be the transition fuel in the EU energy transformation. 'It will allow us to reduce CO2 emissions. However, I do not believe that the gas in our pipes in the next decades will always be natural gas. It will change. Therefore, together with PKN Orlen, we are launching an extensive biomethane programme and we are implementing hydrogen technologies,' stressed Kwieciński.

Investments in this area were also announced by Lotos Group. 'I expect that in the next 20 years we will have a fuel mix largely based on alternative fuels. We see an increasing role of natural gas, but also hydrogen. We should work on the most effective methods of using hydrogen and at the same time create an appropriate legal framework for the use of this fuel on a wider scale,' noted Paweł Majewski, President of Lotos.

In turn, Bogdan Kucharski, President of BP Poland, mentioned the rate of developments in the industry. 'I am glad that we have a new draft of the national energy policy, which is a move in the right direction. However, an aggressive pace of promoting investments is even more necessary, because although 2040 seems to be still far away, 2030 is not. And large energy projects require a lot of time. The sooner we invest, the sooner we will carry out this transformation,' said Kucharski.

Dawid Zieliński, President of Columbus Energy, emphasised that there was a notable change in the awareness of consumers and entrepreneurs, as evidenced by the boom on the photovoltaic micro-plants market. 'Of course, we should discuss the pace of this transformation and the biggest problem lies with decisions - not directional, but operational. It is important, however, that we are all heading in the same direction,' concluded Zieliński.

'The new version of the national energy policy presented by the Ministry of Climate has shown the directions of changes in the area of energy until 2040. Now, specific investment decisions are needed to drive the national economy,' said the participants of the debate "Poland's Energy Policy until 2040 - Challenges and Opportunities" during the Economic Forum in Karpacz.

'A transformation is coming, as a result of which by 2030 one out of three megawatt hours of energy consumed in Poland will be green energy. By developing renewable energy sources and focusing even more on the thermal modernisation of buildings, we have a chance for massive investments and creation of 300,000 jobs,' argued Michał Kurtyka, the Minister of Climate.

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