The Poles have limited power imports from Germany in order to reduce “loop flows” through the country. Now, grid experts at the European Network of Transmission System Operators (Entso-e) warn that the country may no longer have generation and power import capacity to meet demand. By Craig Morris.
All posts tagged: Poland
In Poland, is the devil green?
The main message of Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si has not yet reached many parts of Polish society. These days, diplomats in Paris are trying to agree on an international treaty which would combat global warming. Around the world, thousands of green initiatives have been created. Secular, clergy, leftists and right-wing groups increasingly realize that climate change is not an invention by freaky scientists, but that it is in fact one of the biggest challenges to our societies of our time. Michal Olszewski explains.
The Polish conservatives and the ecology issue
There is a political shift in Poland. The right leaning parties have won the general elections: this means that the centrist Civic Platform (PO) – after eight years of ruling – has turned into the opposition again. As Michał Olszewski warns, this could lead to a number of severe consequences for the Polish political landscape, however, there are also some possibilities of shaping environmental policy, both nationally and internationally.
Renewable energy and the need for storage: Lessons to be learned from the situation in Germany
According to conventional wisdom, renewable energy needs storage options. While it is true that a completely renewable energy system would need mechanisms to balance supply and demand, there is surprisingly little need for energy storage until renewables reach a really high share in the power mix. Martin Tampier reviews the scientific literature and looks at the implications for North America.
The Polish Energy Drought
The extreme heatwave this summer has put additional pressure on the Polish power system. Energy planners and policy makers in the country should no longer just be worried about power outages in winter, argues Michal Olszewski. Summer heat could be just as disruptive.
How the European power sector copes during the heat wave
The summer is drawing to a close in Europe, and it was one of the hottest ever. Thermal power plants (coal and nuclear) had to ramp down production in numerous countries due to a lack of cooling water, but the heat also affected solar power production. Craig Morris reports.
Polish right-wing politics: a devil of decarbonization
On August 6, the new Polish president – Andrzej Duda, from the right-wing and anti European Law and Justice Party (PiS) – will be sworn into office. And if the current political winds do not change, we can expect a substantial shift in the Polish parliament after the general elections in the fall, warns Michał Olszewski. Current polls suggest that the PiS will gain a significant margin. Pessimists warn that we should be prepared for a “Hungarian scenario”.
Germany’s energy transition is not an island of its own
The restructuring of the energy system in one of the world’s leading industrialized nations is undoubtedly a highly ambitious undertaking. There is no blueprint for this energy transition that would offer a simple step-by-step procedure to follow. In that sense, the Energiewende is an open learning process and pilot project at the same time, one that is being observed internationally with a mixture of hope and skepticism. However, there is one thing that the German energy transition is certainly not: an island of its own that isolates Germany’s energy economy. On the contrary, a quick overview of the world’s state of affairs with regard to energy shows that the global energy transition is now picking up speed, as Ralf Fücks points out.
In Poland, prosumer means enemy
In March this year, Poland finally decided to support decentralized rooftop PV. Since then, opponents have managed to dismantle the project step by step. Michał Olszewski reports from Poland.
The Polish dance with nuclear
Polish authorities find it hard to decide what to do with their current nuclear program, once announced as the great hope for its energy system. No decision at the moment looks like a deliberate strategy although it will not solve the problems of Polish energy supply, as Michał Olszewski explains.