Poland to build more coal mines

In a move which bucks the global trends, Poland will build/restitute two coal plants for some PLN 6.8 billion combined, according to a new government plan for the Silesia region. One mine, where coking coal will be extracted, will be built on an infrastructure of one of the mines closed in years 1997-2001. This project will start early next year, and end in H1, 2019 and will cost PLN 1.9 billion. According to the plan, the mine would pay itself back within 5 years. The investment would be financed partially by one of the coal mining firms, partially by domestic and foreign private capital. The other mine, a steam coal one, would cost PLN 5 billion and starting from 2030 could producing 2 million metric tons of coal annually. “Construction of new coal-fired power plants in Poland is associated with the need to provide coal supplies. The gradual depletion of deposits takes place in currently operating mines. In this situation, there is a need to make new deposits available, which can not be done by further exploiting existing mines. New shafts and facilities have to be built. In the perspective of the next few decades, coal will be the basis for the energy mix of the state, and the extraction of own raw material will help maintain a high degree of energy independence, the stability of electricity supply, as well as competitiveness of the entire economy,” the plan explained.