The article presents selected issues from the Polish Energy Policy draft until 2040. From many issues, the authors chose the ones they considered the most revolutionary. Firstly, the National Power System should be restructured to meet the challenges of a changing environment, be adapted to the growing demand for electricity, and at the same time have the least impact on the natural environment. These goals can be achieved through reforms to reduce the importance of coal in the energy mix and the development of renewable energy sources, especially offshore wind energy. The next tasks are the development of electromobility, enabling the reduction of pollution caused by transport, and, in the longer term, after 2030, the development of nuclear energy in place of the withdrawn coal power.
Biomass is one of the most frequently used sources of renewable energy. For centuries, wood has been used by people to heat their homes, and nowadays it is also used to generate electricity. The article discusses legal issues related to biomass, classification of biomass for energy purposes, quality parameters of selected ecological fuels, quality requirements for biomass, as well as biomass trade in the world. The article compares the quality requirements for biomass purchased by individual companies from the power sector (mainly dimensions, calorific value, moisture content, ash content, sulfur and chlorine). An analysis of the price of wood pellets on international markets, represented by the biomass stock exchanges: RBCN, EEX and BALTPOOL was also performed. The market analysis clearly shows that the international market for industrial pellets is dominated by intercontinental trade, which mainly concerns exchanges between the United States of America as a producer and Europe as a consumer. The largest amount of biomass is imported by the United Kingdom, mainly for its Drax biomass power plant, and this biomass comes from the USA and Canada. In addition to Great Britain, significant importers of wood pellets are the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark. Judging by the interest of Polish energy companies in the purchase of biomass, also in Poland, the development of the biomass market should be expected.
Observing the situation in the power industry it is easy to see that there are very deep changes in it. They rely primarily on moving away from conventional energy to renewable energy. This is particularly the case for energy in the European Union. Europe strives to be a forerunner in renewable technologies and a leader in the fight against global warming. The mining industry is being abolished and coal-fired power stations are being displaced by renewable energy sources. This situation is not only a result of EU directives but also of grassroots social initiatives inspired by environmental groups. The new lignite openings are being blocked, due to the lack of public acceptance, and the construction of conventional power plants. They do not help economic arguments for the development of energy based on coal, lignite, fuel that is significantly cheaper than the other, or to provide potential investors with the creation of new jobs. Also, coal investments are suspended in other regions of the world. CoalSwarm coal research shows that 2016 saw a dramatic fall in the amount of coal investment in the world. Even in China and India, where most of the coal industry has developed in recent years, about 100 investments have been suspended. The situation in the US is unclear. Although Barack Obama signed the Paris Agreement, current United States President Donal Trump has spoken out about this agreement and in numerous speeches and is eager to return to the dominant role of coal in the American economy. Poland still maintains the carbon structure of the power industry, but the Minister of Energy has announced that the new block at the Ostrołęka power plant will be the last coal-fired power plant to be built in Poland. This statement allows us to believe that there may be a return to Poland’s energy policy in the nearest future, and the long-awaited document, Poland’s energy policy until 2050, will determine the direction of change for the coming years.
The article presents the EU legislative procedure and decision-making processes with a special emphasis on decisions regarding energy policy. It has been pointed out that most of the energy related legal acts, including the renewable energy directive and those aimed at the gradual reduction of emissions of harmful substances, are adopted according to the ordinary legislative procedure. However, special legislative procedures apply in the case of international agreements between the European Union and third countries. The trilogues, i.e. meetings of the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council, aimed at reaching a common position before the first reading in the EP, are of great importance in decision making. The article also discusses the problem of energy policy and its impact on the environment, recalling the relevant articles of the Treaty on the functioning of the European Union. The most important paths of influence of the Member States on new legal acts in the context of energy policy have also been shown. This is an extremely important issue from the investors’ point of view, since projects related to the energy industry have a very long payback period, so the stability and predictability of the Community’s energy policy is of paramount importance to them. The possibilities of shaping new laws related to energy at the stage of preparing a regulation are discussed later in the article. The work of parliamentary committees, especially those related to energy, i.e. the ITRE (The Committee on Industry, Research and Energy) Committee and ENVI (The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety) has also been discussed. In addition, the article clearly shows different approaches of Western European countries and the Central and Eastern European countries (including Poland) towards energy issues.
The aspect of climate change in the modern world is one of the broader issues of global social and economic policy. Climate change implies a modification of the business environment, especially the energy sector. Any change in the conditions in which the company operates is the cause, the effect of which becomes its financial situation during the relevant period. Therefore, climate policy will play an increasingly important role in shaping the energy of the future. At present, energy companies are taking measures to process primary energy from fossil fuels, in particular coal, in an efficient and environmentally friendly way. The article presents the impact of international climate agreements on the energy and coal industries. The latest agreement signed in Paris defines a global plan to minimize the dangerous effects of global warming on the climate arising from carbon emissions. The most important outcome of the agreement was the unification of many countries with a common goal. The European Union played a key role in signing the first legally binding agreement in the world, which is also a forerunner in the carbon trading system: EU ETS (European Union Emission Trading Scheme) The US-based CO2 emissions trading system has become a model for the European Commission. In addition, the article highlights the correlation between the EUA ( European Union Allowances) and “ARA coal” prices as well as the role of the coal market in price formation of emission allowances.
The main objective of the article is to assess the changes in carbon dioxide emissions in residential sector caused by the implementation of the plans contained in the Air Protection Programs, anti-smog resolutions adopted in 9 voivodeships and the nationwide “Clean Air” program. The reduction of emissions of pollutants which directly affecting air quality and human health, i.e. particulate matter and benz(a)pyrene, which residential sector is the main source, can also affect the amount of emitted of carbon dioxide. To determine the changes in carbon dioxide emissions in the residential sector, emissions of CO2 in base year of 2017 from various energy carriers were determined, plans for reducing of low-stack emission were reviewed and the future structure of energy carriers used in households was estimated. The processes of increasing the efficiency of energy use through both the replacement of boilers and thermomodernization were also taken into account. The obtained results show that the highest CO2 emission reduction of 6% is achieved in case of “Clean Air” program. In frame of this program in 3.5 million of single-family houses a heating system replacement and thermomodernization is planned. Implementation of plans included on Air Protection Programs and anti-smog resolutions can lead to a relatively small (approx. 1%) reduction of CO2 compared to base year 2017. The detailed results of future fuel consumption and CO2 emission for individual voivodeships and for the whole of Poland was presented.
Polska od lat zmaga się ze złą jakością powietrza, co bezpośrednio przekłada się na zdrowie ludzkie. Badania wskazują, że największy wpływ na przekraczanie poziomów dopuszczalnych i docelowych stężeń zanieczyszczeń, szczególnie pyłów oraz bezno(a)pirenu, ma niska emisja, w szczególności z sektora gospodarstw domowych. Powodem takiego stanu jest spalanie złej jakości paliwa w starych, mało efektywnych i wysokoemisyjnych paleniskach. Mając na uwadze powyższe zagrożenia, idąc śladem Krakowa i Małopolski, kolejne województwa, miasta i gminy wprowadzają lub rozważają wprowadzenie ograniczenia spalania paliw stałych na swoim terenie oraz całkowitą likwidację kotłów na paliwa stałe niespełniające wymogów ekoprojektu lub ewentualnie normy 5 klasy emisji spalin.
Określenie wielkości emitowanych zanieczyszczeń do atmosfery ma kluczowe znaczenie w przypadku podejmowania wysiłków i określania działań zmierzających do poprawy jakości powietrza. W Polsce ruszyły ambitne programy zarówno na poziomie rządowym, jak i regionalnym, które mają na celu wymianę kotłów i pieców w kilku milionach domów. Na przykład szacuje się, że prawie pół miliona kotłów należy wymienić w ramach realizacji uchwały antysmogowej w województwie małopolskim. W artykule zostały przedstawione opracowane współczynniki emisji zanieczyszczeń mających bezpośredni wpływ na lokalną jakość powietrza tj.: współczynniki emisji pyłów, bezno(a)pirenu, tlenków siarki i azotu, tlenku węgla. Zostały wskazane zakresy stosowanych i prezentowanych współczynników emisji dla różnych technologii oraz różnych paliw. Wskazane zostały również standardy emisji obowiązujące dla nowych kotłów oraz ilości zużywanych paliw w gospodarstwach domowych w Polsce.
Przedstawiono możliwe zmiany wielkości emisji w przypadku likwidacji starych kotłów i używania nowoczesnych urządzeń do spalania biomasy oraz węgla w gospodarstwach domowych oraz przeprowadzenia termomodernizacji.