Coal or cool? Poland's energy sector in industrial transition mode

Euronews

30-04-2025

Poland is home to some of the highest-emitting industrial facilities in the European Union, such as the famous Belchatow power plant, which can produce up to 20% of Poland's electricity needs by burning lignite coal. At the turn of the last few decades, when Poland joined the European Union, various comprehensive modernisation plans were implemented at Belchatow.
'Since the early 1990s, the plant has reduced sulphur dioxide emissions by more than 93%, nitrogen oxide emissions by more than 66% and eliminated 99% of dust emissions,' Rafał Smejda, Director General of PGE GiEK SA Belchatow Power Plant told Euronews.
The work involved building a new combustion unit, closing or replacing old boilers, renovating the electrical filters and installing desulphurisation systems.
These changes were imperative for the plant to retain its permit. The competent authorities in the 27 Member States must ensure compliance with the standards of the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED), the EU's main tool for reducing pollution from large installations.
Turning your back on coal
Despite these technical improvements, the Belchatow power station is due to close gradually over the next few years as part of Poland's ongoing energy transition.
Poland is reducing its dependence on coal, a particularly polluting fuel. Some power plants are already abandoning coal, such as the Zeran plant in Warsaw, whose new unit is fuelled by gas.
'In this transitional period, we still need to rely on combustion plants. Poland does not have a nuclear power plant yet. We are also not in a position to develop large-scale hydropower. We also cannot fully rely on energy import because Poland has one of the biggest district heating network in the EU', explains Marcin Wisniewski, from the Department of Environmental Instruments of the Polish Ministry of Climate and Environment.
Poland facing the IED 2.0 directive
National data confirms the decline in the main industrial pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides (NOX) and sulphur dioxide (SO₂), which can have serious effects on the environment and human health.
The transposition of the first European IED Directive in 2016 has, according to the Polish government, led to a 40% reduction in SO₂ emissions in the country.
'We then had to implement the Best Available Techniques conclusions. And when you compare data from 2023 with data on emissions from 2016, so already those reduced, you can see for example that dust emission dropped by 80%.', Wisniewski adds.
'Now, we are working intensively to transpose IED 2.0 to the national legislation, because for sure it will bring further emission reduction', he says.
The European Union has just revised its IED directive, with the aim of further reducing the levels of industrial pollutants in the air, water and soil, and accelerating the transition to a more innovative, clean and circular industry. According to Marcin Wisniewski, this means Polans 'will also have to work on increasing uptake innovation by the industry, by providing incentives for the operators to transform towards climate neutral and circular economy'. According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), air pollution in 2021 have cost the equivalent of around 2% of the EU's GDP, or several hundred billion euros.
Still according to the EEA, one percent of the most polluting industrial facilities in Europe - many of them coal power plants - caused half of these costs.