In order to greenwash its coal power plants and fulfill EU requirements, Poland co-fires biomass with coal. While this is a phenomenon common in many European countries, Michał Olszewski argues that it does not make sense for the environment and helps coal companies. EUR 1.7 billion – this is the amount by which the Polish government supported co-firing of coal and biomass between 2005 and 2012. What’s wrong with that, you may ask. Biomass, recognized by the European Union as an environmentally-friendly source of energy, is involved in a complex system of green certificates. Nut shells from Brazil, Indonesia and Africa, wood chips, pellets, and even full-fledged timber go to Polish furnaces and power plants in the name of environmental protection. And everything is legal, of course. Biomass can be a great source of green energy as long as we fulfil certain conditions. Transporting these sources stemming from the other side of the world to Poland make this an ecological costly endeavour. Similarly absurd is the burning of good quality wood – although this practice … Continue reading A Polish appetite for biomass