Polish energy policy for next two decades adopted

February 4, 2021, 2:59PM|Nuclear News Staff

Poland’s Council of Ministers has approved a long-term energy policy that emphasizes clean forms of energy, including nuclear.

On February 2, the country’s Ministry of Climate and Environment announced the official adoption of Energy Policy of Poland until 2040 (PEP2040), originally published in draft form in November 2018 and revised the following year. The full text of PEP2040 has not been published at this writing, but an 18-page abstract can be accessed online.

In its announcement, the ministry described PEP2040 as “a clear vision of Poland’s energy transformation strategy” and “a compass for entrepreneurs, local governments, and citizens in the transformation of the Polish economy toward low emission.” By 2040, the document states, more than half of Poland’s installed capacity will be zero-emission sources, adding that both offshore wind energy and nuclear energy “will play a special role” in reaching that goal.

Nuclear’s role: PEP2040 contains eight specific objectives, one of which is the implementation of nuclear power. (The other seven are the optimal use of Poland’s own energy sources; development of electricity generation and network infrastructure; diversification of supplies and expansion of the network infrastructure of natural gas, crude oil, and liquid fuels; development of energy markets; development of renewable energy sources; development of district heating and cogeneration; and improvement of energy efficiency.)

According to the document, Poland will launch its first nuclear power reactor in 2033, with a capacity of 1 to 1.6 GW. Additional units are to be “implemented” every two to three years after that. The full nuclear program envisions the construction of six units by 2043.

PEP2040 also notes the potential for using high-temperature reactors, “mainly as a source of technological heat for industry.”

Costars: The new policy calls for renewables to provide at least 23 percent of final energy consumption by 2030, with wind farms generating 5.9 GW of power by 2030 and 11 GW by 2040. The contribution from coal—by far Poland’s primary source of electricity generation—will remain prominent but substantially less so, dropping from its 70-plus percent share in 2020 to no more than 56 percent by 2030.

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