Europe’s coal heartland hottest market for renewable power

Bloomberg

As Europe prepares a multi-billion-dollar blitz to cut greenhouse gas emissions, a race is on to cash in on the green transformation of the nation with the region’s most polluting power plant.
Poland, which currently relies on coal for more than 70% of its electricity generation, is stepping up efforts to replace the dirty fuel with renewable energy. As the country finalises its 2040 energy policy, some of the world’s biggest players in renewables are seeking to capture a share of the market.
“Poland is busier than any market I’ve seen since I’ve been working in renewables,” said Gary Bills, regional director for Europe, Middle East and Africa at energy consultants K2 Management. “There’s massive interest in on and offshore wind.”
It marks a drastic turnaround for Poland’s ruling Law & Justice party, which went from a blocker of wind farms to booster, amid the plummeting cost of renewables and a public backlash against some of the dirtiest air on the continent.
The government’s shift also comes as the European Commission proposes linking its $841 billion economic stimulus program to the bloc’s climate goals.
Poland will increase its renewable power capacity by 65% from 2019 to 2024, mostly from onshore wind farms, according to International Energy Agency estimates. The country’s first offshore wind turbines, in the Baltic Sea, are expected to start producing power by 2025.
“We will never manage, as Poland, to meet the Paris commitment based on onshore renewables,” said Marek Roszak, DNV GL’s head of energy in Poland and Central Eastern Europe, referring to the 2015 global climate pact. “We will need to push more offshore.” Poland’s Climate Ministry is treating offshore projects as a priority, it said by email.