Poland plans to build a 600MW solar facility

    Polish utility company PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA (PGE) announced last week that it plans to build 600 megawatts of solar energy at its Belchatow coal-fired New Solar Power System power plant site in Lodz Province, Poland, and may build small-capacity wind power facilities.

    According to this strategy, the utility company will install photovoltaic power stations before the end of 2024, and may install about 100MW of onshore wind power generation facilities within five to seven years. Nonetheless, the company clarified that the wind power plan depends on the government's decision to relax existing policies and mainly plans to install turbines near real estate homes and safe locations.

    The photovoltaic power station will cover an area of ​​more than 500 hectares (1,236 acres). Some of them will be installed near the burning waste landfill of coal burning facilities.

    PGE’s proposal has become part of the company’s business strategy to change the 4.93 GW Belchatow lignite power plant, which is Europe’s largest thermal power plant but also the EU’s largest carbon dioxide emitter. As the pace of green energy transition accelerates, Poland will gradually close the power station and carry out the transition through clean energy.

    According to the goal of climate neutrality, PGE stated in 2014 that it will provide 100% renewable energy in 2050. Then, it adopted an improvement plan, the core content of which is to transform into renewable energy power generation, low-carbon and zero-carbon district heating, reliable grid infrastructure, and modern energy services.

    In the next ten years, PGE plans to build 2.5 gigawatts of offshore wind energy, 3 gigawatts of solar energy and at least 1 gigawatt of onshore wind energy.