Another mine in Poland, this time coal, turns to solar PV to power for its operations.
Polish energy group Enea SA will build a 30 MW solar plant for the Bogdanka coal mine in the southeastern province of Lesser Poland, according to PV magazine.
Lubelski Węgiel Bogdanka S.A., the company which owns the coal mine, is a subsidiary of Enea.
Located on 55 hectares of land, the solar PV plant will generate about 30,000 MWh annually. Enea will supply the energy to the Bogdanka coal mine under a long-term power purchase agreement.
According to the mine-owner, the solar PV farm will help reduce the mine’s fixed costs and improve its competitiveness.
Due to its dependence on coal, Poland is the pollution capital of Europe. But in June this year, the rising cost of coal-fired energy forced the Polish government to freeze electricity tariffs for households, hospitals, and small businesses for 2019.
Analysis by the Polish clean energy group the Instytut Energetyki Odnawialnej (IEO) shows that power tariffs from a coal-plus-nuclear power system would rise 30% by 2030, and 60% by 2050. Strikingly, price hikes from a renewables system would be a maximum of 1.5 – 2%.
Read the PV magazine article HERE.
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons (LW Bogdanka)