News
Green directions of ZE PAK strategy accepted – end to coal energy by 2030 at the latest
Green directions of ZE PAK strategy from the group of Zygmunt Solorz accepted
– end to coal energy by 2030 at the latest
The most ambitious energy transformation from coal to green energy in Poland is taking off
ZE PAK SA - an energy concern, producing energy mainly from lignite so far, decided to adopt the directions of the strategy, according to which the last electricity produced from coal will flow at the end of this decade. In the coming years, ZE PAK will generate more and more energy from renewable energy sources, and after the end of coal mining, only green energy will be produced. A significant direction of the new PAK strategy is the production and use of hydrogen.
- I have already built the largest television in Poland, a digital platform, and introduced new high-speed Internet technologies such as LTE or 5G in Poland. Now I want to give Poland and our country's inhabitants something that cannot be produced in any factory - clean air and the environment. For this reason I am glad that ZE PAK will be the first large energy producer in Poland to give up coal so quickly and to produce all its electricity from renewable sources - said Zygmunt Solorz - Green hydrogen is very important and promising in this strategy, which, according to many experts it can become the basic fuel used both in the economy and by all of us. All this also fits perfectly with the activities of the Clean Poland Program Association that I have established - adds Zygmunt Solorz.
The strategic directions assume that the transformation process of ZE PAK will last for the coming years. During this time, further green energy generation projects will be launched and lignite powers will be gradually decommissioned. The date of ending the production of energy from coal is not accidental, the Company intends to fit into the final dates of production of energy from coal set out in the Paris Agreement. Such action of ZE PAK will significantly contribute to the climate neutrality of Wielkopolska.
- Our strategy is extremely ambitious, and we have already been implementing some of them, such as an operating biomass block or the plan to build the largest photovoltaic farm in Poland. However, I would like to emphasize that its implementation and success assume responsible action in the future of the ZE PAK Capital Group, its employees, the region in which it operates and partners with whom it cooperates. We want to convince both the employees of the ZE PAK Group and the inhabitants of the region in which the company operates to our strategy - said Henryk Sobierajski, President of the Management Board of ZE PAK SA.
- Transformation is also an opportunity for new jobs. One of our important initiatives is the construction of the RES Training Center for, among others employees of ZE PAK Group who are at risk of losing their jobs as a result of the Group switching from lignite-based energy generation to RES production - says Piotr Woźny, Chairman of ZE PAK Supervisory Board - PAK wants to be a leader of green change and a role model for other electricity producers in Poland.
The basic model for the operation of the coal segment assumes the use of currently exploited open pits and no new investments in this area. The generation of electricity in coal-fired units at Pątnów I power plant will be shortened until the support system is operational, in the form of a capacity market or another, which will ensure the economic effectiveness of such activity. A more modern and efficient unit at Pątnów II power plant could operate longer, but here the condition is also the economic efficiency of its use. The assumed end date of electricity production in coal sources of ZE PAK Group is planned not later than at the end of the current decade.
Simultaneously, with the phasing out of coal activities, new areas will be developed in which ZE PAK Group intends to exist.
The first step in implementing the outlined direction is the establishment of a new company, PAK Polska Czysta Energia S.A. as part of the Group's structure, which is to separate activities in the area of renewable energy sources from activities related to the production of electricity from coal. Special purpose subsidiaries responsible for individual areas of activity will also be established.
Main directions of development of ZE PAK in the next 10 years:
- decommissioning of coal production - the fastest and in the shortest time in Poland, i.e. 20 years earlier than the assumed climate neutrality of the European Union
- wind energy production - construction of wind farms on reclaimed areas owned by ZE PAK Group
- solar energy production - construction of photovoltaic farms on reclaimed areas owned by ZE PAK Group
- production of energy from biomass and production of green hydrogen - incl. adaptation of coal boilers for biomass combustion at Konin Power Plant. An important area of Konin Power Plant's activity is to be the production of green hydrogen in the electrolysis process
- production of energy from biogas - building a network of local agricultural biogas plants in areas related to cattle and pig farming, mainly in Eastern Wielkopolska
- other initiatives, such as e.g. production of zero-emission buses - concept development and implementation of an innovative hydrogen city bus production project or production of zero-emission hydrogen drives for motor boats - creation of a hydrogen drive project in cooperation with a partner specialized in the construction of motor boats.
The aim of the implementation of the outlined directions is to build a modern, integrated enterprise with a diversified base of production assets, adapted to activities within the implementation of the idea of the Green Deal and climate-neutral economy.
The whole presentation of New directions of the development strategy of ZE PAK SA Capital Group