Surowce energetyczne są podstawą dla wytwarzania energii w formie ciepła i prądu na Ziemi. Obecne rozwiązania dotyczące konstrukcji bezpiecznych i ekonomicznych reaktorów jądrowych, jak również proces wykorzystania energii z odnawialnych źródeł energii, ponadto przyszłościowe rozwiązania otrzymywania czystej energii z wodoru, ogniw paliwowych i innych źródeł mają decydujący wpływ na zmianę tego tradycyjnego podejścia. Niemniej jednak, kopalne surowce energetyczne (ropa naftowa, gaz ziemny i węgiel) nie mają obecnie substytutów, które sprostałyby wymaganemu zapotrzebowaniu na energię. W artykule omówiono problemy i wyzwania związane z wykorzystaniem kopalnych paliw w energetyce polskiej. Przybliżono stan zasobów (bilansowych i przemysłowych) pierwotnych nośników energii: węgla kamiennego, węgla brunatnego, ropy naftowej, gazu ziemnego i metanu pokładów węgla. Zwrócono szczególną uwagę, że bardzo duże zasoby węgla kamiennego i brunatnego mogą i powinny być wykorzystywane w gospodarce kraju. Przeszkodą dla długoterminowego wykorzystania tych nośników w energetyce jest polityka energetyczno-klimatyczna Unii Europejskiej, która zdecydowanie zmierza do znaczącej redukcji emisji gazów cieplarnianych. Dokonano również omówienia stanu obecnego krajowej energetyki konwencjonalnej, jak również zarysu jej przyszłości. Zwrócono uwagę, że zapewnienie bezpieczeństwa dostaw energii elektrycznej będzie wymagało znacznego wysiłku inwestycyjnego zarówno w sektorze wytwórczym, jak i sieciowym. Artykuł zwieńcza omówienie problemów i wyzwań związanych z funkcjonowaniem krajowego sektora energii. Należy podkreślić, że nadszedł czas na podjęcie przez rząd strategicznych decyzji, dotyczących kształtowania przyszłej struktury paliwowej systemu wytwarzania energii. Polska musi w dalszym ciągu zmierzać w kierunku gospodarki niskoemisyjnej, a rozwój zaawansowanych technologii ograniczających emisję i podniesienie efektywności energetycznej to właściwy kierunek działań.

Coal mining is one of the most important sectors of the Polish industry. It can be said that the coal is a national raw material. This results in Poland being a pioneer in the European Union in terms of coal mining as well as its use in the production of electricity and heat. There are many companies in Poland which have been established and developed around the coal mining industry aimed at coal extracting. The operations of those companies depends on the condition of the mining companies and their cooperation with them: commercial, service and advisory, called referred to as “mining supporting companies”. The article focuses on the results of a survey carried out in mining supporting companies, such as mining machinery and equipment manufacturers, mining-related service companies and mining-related research and development institutions. The authors evaluated the relationship and dependence of those companies on the mining industry. It was assumed that the measure of the mining supporting companies condition is the overall quantity of public related payments contributed to the state budget and local budgets. In the article, the authors raised the problem of the size of losses for public finances, as a result of the significant limitations of financial flows from the mining companies. The surveyed companies are those associated with the Polish Mining Chamber of Industry and Commerce. As a result, the authors prepared conclusions regarding the dependence of the mining supporting companies on the situation of the mining subsector.

Natural gas plays a significant role in the energy structure of many world economies. Many of them are highly dependent on domestic resources exploitation, other on its deliveries from non-domestic directions. In Poland its importance was relatively low, but in recent years we can observe an increase of interest in this raw material. The aim of the paper is to present the role of natural gas as a primary energy carrier and to determine its impact on the sustainable development and energy security of Poland. The role of gas in the European Union restrictions and development of the domestic economy is also a point. Theoretical deliberations are focused on the most important features of the Polish natural gas market. The article presents the most important national regulations concerning the development of the gas sector in Poland. The amount of natural gas resources are shown as well as indigenous production of the fuel and imports, including the directions from which natural gas is imported. Both political and geographical aspects of the directions of natural gas acquisition are discussed. The level and potential abilities of the diversification of the natural gas supply are discussed. The importance of gas storages in underground gas repositories is underlined. The authors point to the increase in the diversification of raw materials in the structure of electricity, heat production and the transition to pro-ecological fuels.

Polska węglem stoi. Zwłaszcza brunatnego mamy w bród. Jest to paliwo o stosunkowo niskich kosztach produkcji, co zapewnia relatywnie niewysokie koszty produkcji energii elektrycznej. Czy zatem warto z niego rezygnować?

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change obliges member countries to make an inventory of greenhouse gases emission and, among others, an inventory of fugitive emission from coal mining system. To comply with this obligation, basing on 1992 data. Poland has evaluated so-called "emission factors" for identified sources of methane emission. According to IPCC/OECD guidelines, the emission factors multiplied by coal output allow simple evaluation of methane emission. Since the time when the emission factors were evaluated in 1994, coal industry in Poland has undergone major organisational and technical changes. At the same time significant development of basic knowledge on geology of methane in coal-bearing strata have occurred. Both these facts make the emission factors evaluated earlier inaccurate. A wide range of research indispensable for accurate evaluation of new emission factors is described in the paper. It is also recommended in the paper that by the time the research results are known, the improved emission factors. which take into account organisational changes of mining industry should be used. Methane emission from coal mining system in 1999 evaluated using those emission factors equals 527,889 Gg.

Increasing the share of energy production from renewable sources (RES) plays a key role in the sustainable and more competitive development of the energy sector. Among the renewable energy sources, the greatest increase can be observed in the case of solar and wind power generation. It should be noted that RES are an increasingly important elements of the power systems and that their share in energy production will continue to rise. On the other hand the development of variable generation sources (wind and solar energy) poses a serious challenge for power systems as operators of unconventional power plants are unable to provide information about the forecasted production level and the energy generated in a given period is sometimes higher than the demand for energy in all of the power systems. Therefore, with the development of RES, a considerable amount of the generated energy is wasted. The solution is energy storage, which makes it possible to improve the management of power systems. The objective of this article is to present the concept of electricity storage in the form of the chemical energy of hydrogen (Power to Gas) in order to improve the functioning of the power system in Poland. The expected growth in the installed capacity of wind power plants will result in more periods in which excess energy will be produced. In order to avoid wasting large amounts of energy, the introduction of storage systems is necessary. An analysis of the development of wind power plants demonstrates that the Power to Gas concept can be developed in Poland, as indicated by the estimated installed capacity and the potential amount of energy to be generated. In view of the above, the excess electricity will be available for storage in the form of chemical energy of hydrogen, which

As one Polish saying goes, "coal keeps Poland on its feet:' The country is indeed particularly rich in lignite deposits - a domestic fuel of relatively low production cost, ensuring relatively inexpensive power production. Should such an energy source be abandoned?

In the era of the fight against global warming and in light of the search for energy with the least possible impact on the environment, interest in hydrogen has become a natural direction of development. Striving for a zero-emission Europe by 2050, the EU promotes low-emission and ultimately emission-free hydrogen for the widest possible use in the economy. Poland has developed a strategic document specifying the necessary activities for the use of hydrogen in the economy, which should at the same time maintain its competitiveness. Poland is currently the third producer of hydrogen in the European Union, which enables strategic thinking about maintaining Poland as a leading player on the hydrogen market in the long term. Currently, hydrogen in Poland is produced by (usually large) state-owned enterprises for their own needs with only a small margin of its resale. This is conventional hydrogen that is mainly obtained from natural gas. Therefore, it is difficult to talk about the hydrogen market, which must develop so that this raw material can be widely used in many branches of the modern economy. However, this requires taking a number of legislative, research and development and investment activities, as well as directing the national energy transformation to renewable energy sources, which may ultimately reduce the costs of pure hydrogen production. A number of actions have been taken, but the delay in legislative actions is slowing down the creation of the hydrogen market and is limiting the interest of private businesses in engaging in transformation activities.

Energy transition is a process that affects entire regions, not only reducing the prevailing socio- -economic conditions but most importantly, creating a new framework of functioning for their inhabitants. The changes that are taking place can be described as territorial stresses, which are factors that affect not only the psychological well-being of residents but also the economic, demographic, technological and ecological conditions of the regions. The article presents the partial results of research work conducted within the EN TRAN CES project. The authors compare two carbon-intensive regions: Kraków Metropolitan Area (high air pollution area) and Silesia (coal mining area). Comparing the results of the two components and thus the research methods: - the identification and systematization of the socio-cultural stress situation (a component describing events relevant to the transformation of the regions from 1945–2022 and the sparing of its significance on the development conditions in the regions; - the assessment of the adaptive capacity of the residents based on their attachment to the place, individual adaptation strategies for resolving tensions and the level of life satisfaction (socio-psychological component).

This article presents the results of a study of the determinants of energy transformation of coal-dependent regions. The case study was on the region of Silesia. This region is the main producer of hard coal and coking coal in Poland, with nineteen mines and numerous coal-fired power plants. Silesia is highly industrialized and urbanized, contributing significantly to Poland’s GDP. However, it is also a leader in terms of methane and carbon dioxide emissions. The study used an approach based on Alvin L. Bertrand’s ‘stress-strain’ theory, to investigate the socio-cultural stresses emerging as a result of the interaction of external factors and internal process dynamics within the region itself. Then, using Marc Wolfram’s systems-based analytical framework approach, the current transformative capacity of Silesia was analyzed. The theoretical framework adopted assumes that socio-cultural stress can be inferred from past situations of tension, influencing the social structure of the region and shaping accepted patterns of adaptation to change. Socio-cultural stress emerges as a key determinant of a region’s coping strategy and shapes its ability to transform in the long term. The research approach presented in this article adopts a comprehensive framework that integrates socio-cultural, socio-ecological and technological dimensions, providing a holistic view of a region’s transformation challenges and opportunities. The research was conducted using focus group interviews and a structured interview questionnaire. Participants in the research were individuals representing a diverse community of experts and activists involved in the energy transition process in Silesia, including local government officials, businesses, professional associations and social activists.