Poland: how long can the coal mining frenzy continue?

More than half of the country’s coal mines are managed by pro-Russian separatist militia.

Credit: DmyTo/Shutterstock.

On the face of it, there appears to be a case for such a statement. While opening a new coal mine, the country’s ruling party said it wanted to introduce legislation that would allow it to open more mines in the future, without the need to gain regional approval. This was, however, announced in the weeks before a general election, possibly a soundbite that would resonate with voters. Not only is mining, particularly for coal, a source of national pride for the country, it is critical to its economy. Coal is also essential to the country’s energy mix, and looks set to be so for some time yet.

Coal-fired power facilities are currently being built, including the 490 MW Turów 11, a new unit at the facility in Bogatynia, and the 1000 MW Ostrołęka C in Ostrołęka. Commissioning of others is at varying stages; the list includes the 910 MW Jaworzno III, two new 900 MW units at Opole plant in Katowice, and the 2017 commissioning of the 1075 MW Kozienice 11 in Świerże Górne.

“The Polish coal mining sector is doing well at the moment, hard coal and lignite,” says Brian Ricketts, secretary general at the European Association for Coal and Lignite (EURACOAL).

Production is stable and long-term supply contracts have been agreed with power utilities, suggesting mining has a secure future. The sector has undergone reform, however, resulting in the planned closure of some of its least efficient mines, while mining companies are investing heavily to modernise and further increase efficiency, including projects on intelligent mines and digitalisation.

While this is great news for mining communities, it has been met with annoyance by those who want to see it move away from fossil fuels, which explains Macron’s unusually blunt remarks.

“The environmental impacts of burning coal are enormous – not just for the climate, but also for air and water quality and water use,” says Anton Lazarus of the European Environmental Bureau. He believes Poland needs to be planning for a greener future or it risks being left behind while other major European countries “embrace the benefits of moving beyond coal”.

Put simply, he says, it’s a position that is incompatible with the Paris Agreement, which has the support of scientists who “agree it is essential” if we are to “avoid catastrophic climate breakdown”.

“We need to deal with the fact that most coal in the world is now ‘unburnable fuel’,” he adds. “Our economies will need to transform – but this is the normal result of technological development and has occurred throughout history.”

His words are a call to action for the Polish, but Ricketts believes much is already being done there. “In response to the clean air programme, support for solar PV is granted. At the same time, big energy companies are investing in offshore wind,” he says. State-owned utility provider, Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A. (PGE), has said it plans to invest billions of zlotys in the construction of wind farms in the Baltic Sea, with a total capacity of 3.5 GW, by 2030.

He counters much of the criticism Poland, and Europe for that matter, has received on its efforts to raise the green credential of the sector, pointing out that it has reduced its pollutant emission by between 60% and 90% from their 1990 levels. “As for climate targets, carbon dioxide emissions from the EU coal sector have fallen from 1990 to 2016 by an astonishing 47%. Therefore it has greatly contributed to the overall decline of EU GHG emissions, helping to meet the targets agreed by the UNFCCC in Paris in 2015,” he continues.

However, Ricketts warns much more would need to be done if Poland were to move away from coal in a big way. “The energy transition requires vast financing and Poland cannot undergo such a structural change of its energy sector without support and time. Across Europe, it will cost €25bn per year.” For now, he believes coal brings stability by balancing intermittent renewables and security of supply to the whole energy system.

Efforts to further reduce carbon emissions across Europe, not just Poland, are being made, but it is a challenge not easily addressed. Ricketts argues a blanket, one size fits all approach is simply unworkable, adding that compromise can only be found when there is an understanding of that fundamental point. “For example, Poland proposes new nuclear, but other countries have decided against that particular low-carbon option.”

So what will become of Poland’s coal mining industry, and those who serve within it, in the long-term? It’s clear that, for now at least, coal has a future in Poland as new plants come online and the coal-supporting Law and Justice Party was re-elected in October’s general election. But change has to happen, warns Lazarus.

He says coal and coal mining has played a huge role in the history of almost all industrialised countries, including Poland, and the mining communities that have worked so hard should be honoured. However, to not be honest about the future and the need to move away from the fuel would be disrespectful to those communities. “Given its history, it’s normal that coal has become intertwined with many people’s identities, but there’s a difference between identifying with something and recognising its historical significance, and making a choice about the energy supply of the future.”

To this end, he and Ricketts find some common ground: “It is important that our workers are well informed and prepared for change,” Ricketts says. In addition to the time and money he believes will be required to facilitate this change, there needs to be support to maintain skills within companies as they choose to divest activities and widen their portfolios, and for new job creation as the transformation continues.

“For the moment there is no alternative, with time the Polish energy mix will be changing,” he says. “The European mining and energy sectors are the source of a long value chain which has to be built on and extended during the transition, rather than simply being lost. We need a transition that prevents the impoverishment of mining regions.”

How quickly that change will happen and whether it does so in a well-managed and supported way remains to be seen. But for the time being it seems Poland’s proud tradition of mining, and its position of being a stronghold for coal and the EU’s biggest coal producer, looks set to remain.