Poland to spend big on power grid to meet renewables goals
The coal is unloaded from a vessel in Port Gdanski Eksploatacja, Gdansk, Poland, December 5, 2022. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel Purchase Licensing Rights
WARSAW, April 3 (Reuters) - Poland will need a huge upgrade of its power grids to cope with the transmission of energy from renewable and nuclear sources, a top official said on Monday, as the country set out an energy strategy that will see it shift away from fossil fuels.
Poland generates some 70% of power from coal and has been working on a new energy strategy since the start of the war in Ukraine to lessen its dependence on fossil fuels.
"We need to invest some 500 billion zlotys ($116.11 billion)in transmission and distribution grids by 2040", the chief executive of Polish power grid operator PSE, Tomasz Sikorski, said, adding that the country has to time grid upgrades so that they are finalised in synch with the growth of renewable fleet.
Poland's new energy strategy envisages 74% of energy coming from zero-emission sources, including renewables and nuclear power.
It expects to have 50 gigawatts (GW) of renewable capacity by 2030 and 88 gigawatts GW of renewable energy capacity in 2040.
"The revised forecasts... will allow us to strengthen Poland's energy sovereignty and competitiveness of the national economy, and ensure energy security for citizens," Climate Minister Anna Moskwa told a news conference.
Installed power capacity is set to double to 130 GW in 2040, according to the strategy.
($1 = 4.3063 zlotys)
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Reporting by Marek Strzelecki, writing by Alan Charlish; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Louise Heavens
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