News
The sun instead of carbon - ZE PAK and ESOLEO will build in Wielkopolska the largest solar power plant in Poland
ZE PAK - electricity producer from Wielkopolska and ESOLEO from Polsat Group will build the largest photovoltaic farm in Poland. The solar power plant will be built in areas regained for the natural environment, where lignite was once mined. ESOLEO, as a company specialized in the construction of photovoltaic installations, intends to involve in the implementation of this investment, among others local companies and employees who previously worked in coal mining. The project is being implemented as the next stage of the transformation of coal-based energy into green, led by ZE PAK and Zygmunt Solorz. The value of the signed contract is almost PLN 164 million. The commissioning date is planned for August 2021.
The contract was concluded between Zespół Elektrowni Pątnów-Adamów-Konin SA and the consortium ESOLEO Sp. z o.o. and Przedsiębiorstwo Remontowe PAK SERWIS Sp. z o.o. from Konin. Thanks to the contract, a solar power plant with a capacity of 70 MW will be built. It will be built on an area of 100 hectares in Brudzew commune, where Adamów opencast lignite mine previously operated. Thanks to reclamation, these areas were recreated and restored to the natural environment.
"The construction of a photovoltaic farm by ZEPAK in areas where lignite was exploited until recently, fits perfectly into the process of just transformation of one of the important mining regions in Poland, which is Eastern Wielkopolska. It will be the first investment on such a scale in Poland. It will be built, among others by employees of the energy and coal sector and will become a symbol of the transformation of this sector”- said Piotr Woźny, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of ZE PAK.
The construction of the solar farm in Brudzew will be carried out taking into account the principle of local content. One of the companies that is part of the consortium implementing the investment is the daughter company of ZE PAK - Przedsiębiorstwo Remontowe PAK SERWIS, which thanks to participation in this project will gain qualifications, experience and references that will help to apply for participation in subsequent implementations of large photovoltaic projects throughout Poland.
“The participation of PAK Serwis in the consortium building a photovoltaic farm in Brudzew is only one of the forms of participation of ZE PAK Group in this project. Additionally, this project creates new jobs for people who have been involved in coal mining in the open-pit mines owned by ZE PAK. In October, the first employees of the mines belonging to ZE PAK Group - taking part in the construction of the wind farm in Brudzew - will start working in the green energy sector” - said Henryk Sobierajski, President of the Management Board of ZE PAK.
Retraining the existing employees of ZE PAK to work on the construction of a photovoltaic farm will be possible thanks to the construction of the RES Training Center by ZE PAK in September this year at the Konin Power Plant. The infrastructure of the Training Center enables employees of the energy and coal sector to acquire new competences and professional qualifications. Thanks to the construction of this Center and the agreement signed on July 30 this year between the Company and Agencja Rozwoju Regionalnego SA based in Konin, employees of ZE PAK gained access to training and consulting projects financed by the Regional Development Agency in the field of development services aimed at obtaining qualifications and professional competences.
The photovoltaic farm in Brudzew, on the planned completion date, will be the largest PV farm in Poland. Its capacity will be over 18.5 times greater than the capacity of the largest photovoltaic power plant currently operating in Poland, located in Czernikowo near Toruń, with an installed capacity of 3.77 MW.