State-owned PGE, Poland’s largest power producer, said the 1,366 MW PGE Gryfino Dolan Odra plant has entered commercial operation. The facility is now the largest gas-fired power plant in the country. Officials said on November 8 that the station will supply about 5% of Poland’s electricity. PGE officials said the plant is “one of the most modern in Europe.” The investment “will strengthen Poland’s energy security and ensure a stable energy supply for more than 3 million households,” Dariusz Marzec, CEO of PGE, said at the launch ceremony on Friday. The PGE Gryfino Dolna Odra power plant represents an investment of more than 3.7 billion zloty ($915 million). It is located in the West Pomerania province in northwestern Poland. The plant has two units, each with a generation capacity of 683 MW.
The 1,366 MW PGE Gryfino Dolna Odra power plant, which entered commercial operation on November 8, 2024, is Poland’s largest gas-fired power plant. It is expected to supply about 5% of the country’s electricity. Source: PGE PGE officials said the plant’s rated efficiency is higher than 63%. Officials said it is at least 70% more efficient than older coal-fired units. Poland still gets about two-thirds of its electricity from burning coal, although in recent years the country has been moving toward lower-emission energy sources, including nuclear power. The new plant “is designed to meet the most stringent emissions limits,” PGE said. The factory has emissions estimated at 330 g of carbon dioxide (CO2) per kWh of electricity generated, which is almost three times lower than coal-fired power stations. Miłosz Motyka, the country’s Deputy Minister of Climate, said the new facility “will not only have a direct impact on the stability of the electricity system, that is, on safety, but is also a new step in the transformation of our economy .” “Gas investments are a very important part of the energy transition and the move towards climate neutrality,” said Robert Kropiwnicki, Deputy Minister of State Assets. “We are continuously expanding the RES [renewable energy] system.” However, Kropiwnicki noted that renewables “need parallel stable energy sources to serve as a foundation, and right now there is no more flexible capacity than gas capacity.” Renewable energy will account for about 26% of Poland’s energy generation in 2023. Poland had to import energy from neighboring countries including Germany, Sweden and Ukraine last week as a lack of wind led to a decline in energy production from wind turbines, according to Business Insider Polska. Polish government officials have said they support a strategy to phase out coal-fired power generation and reduce carbon emissions, and have pledged support for the development of renewable energy and nuclear power. The country currently has no nuclear power plants, and officials have said it will likely take another decade before any reactors come online in Poland. Meanwhile, natural gas is expected to increase its share in the country’s energy mix from around 8.5% last year to as much as 31% in 2030, according to the Polish Economic Institute. —Darrel Proctor is a senior editor for POWER (@POWERmagazine).
