Coal stalwart learns to love wind: 'everything we've been doing is changing'

One of Europe’s staunchest coal power stalwarts, Poland’s state-owned utility PGE, unveiled plans for a decisive shift under a new strategy with a big role for offshore wind.

PGE, Poland's largest power group, has long been best known for its heavy reliance on generation fired by lignite, the most polluting form of coal generation that made its plants among the dirtiest in the EU.

PGE said on Thursday that it will spend 235bn zloty ($64bn) by 2035 on an infrastructure transformation that includes a 9GW renewable energy base, spanning wind, solar and hydropower.

In offshore wind, where Poland is one of the world's hottest new markets, PGE aims to have 4GW operating by the end of the strategy period out of a current Baltic Sea pipeline portfolio of 7GW.

PGE’s offshore wind plans include the 1.5GW Baltica 2 project that was this year the subject of a final investment decision with joint venture partner Orsted.

Energy storage also features prominently in PGE’s new plan which targets 18GWh, including a big contribution from pumped hydro.

The utility is phasing out coal assets under a transition process it claims is necessary to safeguard Polish energy security.

Coal has for years been a hugely political issue in Poland due to its role in the economy, but the country has moved to reduce its reliance on the fossil source under pressure from the EU.

However the new strategy is not fossil-free. PGE plans to build 10GW of gas generation that it says is needed to stablise renewables supply. The utility claimed the new capacity “will be adapted to burn decarbonised gases in the future”.