There is an argument about energy prices in Poland. They identify the guilty. But they forgot one thing

There is no doubt that wholesale energy prices in Poland are among the highest in Europe. According to Polityka Insight data only in July they came to EUR 109 per MWh. Although they were 6 percent lower than a year before, they were also twice the prices in France, not to mention the Scandinavian countries. Poland’s average for the past seven months (amounting to EUR 90 per MWh) was the third highest price among EU countries – after Italy and Ireland – what we accounted for in money.pl.

High energy prices are a source of concern for the opposition and Eurosceptics, who are now accusing the government of bad decisions and negligence, while blaming the ever-increasing bills. growth with the green transformation and the actions of the European Union.

“Additional bonus for green lobbyists from the pockets of the shrinking industry. The economic situation is deteriorating, a global crisis is on the horizon, and the government, at the behest of green spies, killing Polish companies” – sounds the alarm, PiS MEP, former president of Orlen, Daniel Obajtek.

For months, PiS politicians have been repeating, like a mantra, the thesis about the “incompetence of the coalition government” in the fight against high energy prices. Janusz Kowalski says directly “all Poles will have higher electricity prices thanks to Donald Tusk and Paulina Hennig-Kloska (Minister of Climate and Environment – editor’s note).”

The argument about energy prices in Poland is heating up and time is running out. Without investments and effective solutions, our energy arrears will become more burdensome, and the costs of energy production will increase, and therefore electricity prices – – experts warn.

Many factors influence wholesale energy prices in Poland. Their growth was caused by the invasion of Ukraine and the departure of cheap hydrocarbons from Russia, rising emission costs, changes in natural gas suppliers and increasingly efficient coal mining in Poland. However, the basic element that makes Poland one of the countries with the highest energy prices is the cost of energy production.

The reasons are due to the structure of the energy mixture. We have many burdensome times today. Moving away from coal, although it will take us a long time, is progressing. Therefore, we should pay less and less for expensive coal allowances and emissions. The problem is that the speed of this transformation is not enough – says Grzegorz Wiśniewski, president of the Institute of Renewable Energy, in an interview with money.pl.

Our energy mix is ​​still largely based on coal. Last year, its share was 60.5%. At the same time, the cost produce 1 MWh from coal costs over PLN 700 and increase every year. The longer coal is a major part of our basket, the more it will cost us to generate electricity.

By comparison, energy from onshore wind farms can be expensive from PLN 103 to PLN 323 per 1 MWh – results from Lazard calculations. The operation of marine turbines costs PLN 310 to PLN 604, and photovoltaic sources cost PLN 103 to PLN 414. It is worth noting that these costs in the case of renewable energy sources (RES) are goes down year after year, and those that come from burning minerals are increasing.

As energy expert Jakub Wiech reminds, pointing out the expectations of the International Energy Agency, next year renewable energy will be the largest producer of electricity worldwide.

– The cheapest energy comes from renewable energy sources, especially from the sun and the wind – Grzegorz Wiśniewski tells us.

As part of EU action, Poland has committed to reducing emissions by 2050 and rebuilding its energy mix. As the Polish Institute of Economics reminds, in 2030 the share of renewable energy sources in total final energy consumption will be 29.8%, and in the case of the power industry it will exceed 50%.

This translates into a 35% reduction in emissions. compared to 1990. This is important because Poland is last among European countries in terms of emissions at 248 g CO2/kWh. For comparison, France emits 53%. less than us.

With the increasing proportion of renewable energy sources, the price of energy is falling. The lowest prices in the EU are recorded in Norway and Sweden (EUR 32 to 39), where hydropower and pumped storage power plants are an important part. France is basing its capacity on nuclear and renewable energy, while Spain has up to 70% of the mix. renewable sources.

In the coming years, Poland will begin the process of closing old coal units, including essential for the stability of the Polish system power plant Bełchatów power plant. This means that around 5 GW of power is disappearing from our system. This is expected to happen in 2036. The lost power is to be replaced by the atom, but we still have a problem in this area.

The state-owned company PGE Energia Jądrowa 1, which was to prepare the investment in the first nuclear power plant in Poland, was established in 2010. Today, the government hopes that the first to launch a nuclear unit in more than ten years, in 2035.

As Dr. Kamil Lipiński from PIE emphasized in an interview with money.pl, “any delay or abandonment in the development of sources with low emissions will lead to 2060. over 18 percent higher costs – additional PLN 330 billion, ie PLN 9 billion per year – and more than twice the energy prices on the market.

To avoid this, we must build to 2030, capacity of at least 10 GW in photovoltaics and 14 GW in offshore and onshore wind energy. This means doubling the current capacity.

– We have very good results in the development of photovoltaics, in particular, we are in third place in Europe and fifth in the world in terms of generating energy from the sun per capita. However, we still need to develop wind energy and solve the question of storing cheap energy – emphasizes Wiśniewski.

In fact, the development of photovoltaics in Poland has been very dynamic so far. The Joint Research Center of the European Commission has estimated the total renewable energy potential of Poland in 2023. for 1265 TWh per year. The majority, 65 percent. possible, it was photovoltaics, whose annual generation capacity was estimated at 816 TWh, the second place was taken by wind.

The problem is that wind energy has developed a lot at sea for years, because with the decision of the PiS government it lost one of its capabilities, which were power plants on land. Their development was frozen by the anti-wind law that was introduced in May 2016. A stone in the garden for Donald Tusk’s team is that, despite promises and announcements, the law is not ‘windmill solution still being drafted. The deadline for the adoption of the project by the Council of Ministers is the third quarter of 2024.

– Wind energy not only means our energy independence and security, but also the cheapest electricity – its production cost is 3-3.5 times lower than from fossil fuels – emphasizes Janusz Gajowiecki, president of the Polish Wind Energy Association (PWEA). PWEA estimates show that the change in minimum speed in Act no 700 by 500 meters will release wind capacity of around 41 GW by 2040.

Due to its presence in the EU, Poland does not have to bear the costs of transformation itself. In addition, our country has the largest share of EU funds allocated for this purpose. From the collection of EUR 110 billion for all member states, the money for Poland will be almost EUR 17 billion more than the money of the next biggest beneficiaries.

While we will receive EUR 26.6 billion from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), from the Cohesion Fund (CF) and from the Just Transition Fund (JTF) by 2027, for example Italy will receive EUR 9.8 billion and Spain 9.7 billion euros.

Therefore, our country will receive five times more than Germany and seven times more than France.

This, however, does not appeal to critics of the EU who raise the issue of ECJ fees and costs the new ETS-2 mechanism, which is still to be implemented. It should be remembered that this money goes to the national renewal fund. They are intended to be used for investment in transformation. – The problem is that for years, especially during the PiS government, they were spent ineffectively. They were subsidizing energy prices, so they caused more emissions and higher energy consumption, says Grzegorz Wiśniewski.

Przemysław Ciszak, journalist money.pl