The Polish energy sector requires transformation. This slogan has often appeared in the public space in recent years. And not without reason. Experts have been proving for a long time that the outdated thermal energy sector no longer meets climate requirements and will soon start generating significant losses, also in economic terms. An immediate modernization of current plants is necessary, and as the Polish Hydrogen Strategy shows, hydrogen is one of the most important tools for its implementation.
Despite the growing share of RES in the national energy mix, the Polish power sector remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels. A significant breakthrough on this ground occurred in 2020, which brought noticeable changes in the global energy landscape. These were primarily influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, during which electricity demand, and thus coal and natural gas prices, decreased significantly around the world. In the case of Poland, energy demand decreased by about 2.1% compared to the previous year.
Already in the first months of 2021, experts pointed to a clear decline in coal-fired energy production, which for the first time in history did not exceed 70%. Interestingly, this decrease took place despite the opening of new coal-fired units, including a 910 MW unit in Jaworzno Power Plant. On the other hand, the importance of gas increased and its share in the national energy mix exceeded 10%.
The year 2020 also brought a dynamic development of RES installations, in particular photovoltaics, for which increasingly encouraging support schemes were earmarked. Already at the beginning of 2021, it was indicated that 18% of electricity production in Poland was based on renewable energy sources, including onshore wind farms (10%), photovoltaics (1.3%), hydropower (1.3%), biomass sources (3%) and biomass co-firing (1.4%), as well as biogas sources (0.8%). Strong growth in RES was the result of a rapidly growing number of prosumers encouraged by attractive subsidies and the emergence of new large-scale solar and wind installations.
The situation changed drastically in mid-2021. The economic impact of the pandemic, harsh climate policies, the political and economic situation on the Old Continent, and the rapid stimulation of the global economy after a period of pandemic stagnation have all contributed to an energy crisis across Europe. It has resulted in today’s record electricity prices, resulting from increases in gas, coal, and carbon dioxide emission permits. For several months they have threatened the energy security of European countries, including Poland, which today is not prepared for the energy transformation.
The Polish energy sector requires immediate modernization.
The most problematic area of the transformation seems to be the Polish heat industry, which is based mainly on coal fuels. As a result, it no longer meets the growing climate requirements and is most exposed to the effects of current increases in fuel prices and CO₂ emission permits. Already in 2019, the price of heat sold from the district heating network averaged 42.78 PLN/GJ. Current market conditions make it soar to levels of 60-70 PLN/GJ, depending on the size of the system and the final costs it generates. It is particularly pessimistic that this is only the beginning of the increases if the situation in the energy market does not stabilize.
This will not be easy. The Polish thermal energy system needs immediate modernization, which has been postponed for years or implemented half-heartedly, mainly by replacing old furnaces and boilers with somewhat newer ones. This energy policy is far from the goals set by the new climate regulations and, if not changed, will bring more and more losses – both environmental and economic. Investments in new, zero-emission technologies seem to be the only chance to improve the situation of this sector of the economy.
And there is room for improvement. The analysis shows that about 5971 entities are operating on the energy systems market in Poland at present, most of them in Wielkopolskie (880), Śląskie (830), and Mazowieckie (621) Voivodships, which still operate on coal fuels in over 71%. Only about 9.5% of heat production uses energy from RES. This is not only a great challenge but also a huge market potential that requires setting an appropriate strategy and further direction of the sector’s development and modernization of the current, outdated conventional systems towards low- and zero-emission technologies. All the more so, since, as announced, a large pool of funds is to be allocated for this purpose. In the EU budget over 190 billion PLN has been planned for the Polish energy transformation until 2027, which should be put to good use.
Hydrogen is the solution
This potential has been recognized in the Polish Hydrogen Strategy, which as a first objective indicates the Implementation of hydrogen technologies in the energy sector. It places particular emphasis on sectoral integration and focuses on the increase in the use of electricity from RES and its exploitation in various branches of the economy, including thermal energy as the primary source of heat for buildings. As the document points out, the potential for using hydrogen to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the area of heating in 2050 is 68% relative to 2020 levels and up to 83% relative to 1990 levels.
Why hydrogen?
Its use as a base fuel in heating systems is expected to significantly reduce emissions from the sector and limit the share of conventional fuels in total heat production. Apart from environmental benefits, reduction of exhaust fumes, and improvement in the comfort of our daily lives, hydrogen will make the country independent of the situation on the European and global fuel markets and, in the long run, improve its energy security. A necessary condition, however, is an investment in facilities for the production and combustion of green hydrogen. Only this type of hydrogen, thanks to the use of energy from RES, is a guarantee of total zero-emission processes.
Hydrogen is an excellent carrier and store of renewable energy. It can be stored in the short and long term and converted back into electricity through the use of fuel cells. Hydrogen thus ensures the balancing of the energy system, by storing energy in times of surplus and reducing the risk of shortages when weather conditions are no longer favorable. So far, a small share of RES in the energy mix has been a result of higher costs and the problem of their instability and lack of effective storage tools, and according to plans, their total share in Polish electricity production is to be at least 32% by 2030. Hydrogen opens new perspectives and makes the vision of an economy based solely on renewable energy more and more realistic.
Implementation of hydrogen technologies in the energy sector
In the area of hydrogen use in the energy sector, the Polish Hydrogen Strategy indicates the need to support research and development projects, create a favorable regulatory environment and appropriate conditions for their implementation and commercialization.
In the perspective until 2025, it envisions launching P2G class 1 MW installations based on Polish technologies, whose task will be to stabilize the operation of the grid. The installations are to produce 3150 MWh of hydrogen per year. Another stage will be the support of projects in the field of hydrogen co-firing in gas turbines, as well as research and development projects in the context of designing co- and poly-generation systems for apartment blocks, small housing estates, and public utility buildings (from 10 kW to 250 kW) with the use of fuel cells. An interesting objective is also the use of existing large-scale salt caverns and the investigation of their capabilities and technical conditions for hydrogen storage.
In the run-up to 2030, co-generation and poly-generation plants will be put into operation, including medium-sized thermal power plants, which will meet the demand for around 580 GWh per year. Energy storage systems using hydrogen will also be implemented, providing approx. 4700 MWh of produced energy with a contribution of 11 GWh. Lastly, the implementation of co-generation and poly-generation systems for apartment blocks, small housing estates, and public facilities from 10 kW to 250 kW is a feasible measure in the perspective of this decade.
There is no denying that the measures described in the Polish Hydrogen Strategy remain general and are only a beginning of what needs to be done if hydrogen is to become a real remedy to climate problems, also in the most difficult sectors of the economy. However, they give an outline of the direction in which the energy sector in Poland should be heading today and may form the basis of the country’s energy transformation in the coming years.
Source: „Transformacja energetyczna w Polsce. Edycja 2021”, Forum Energii
