Poland won't be able to meet EU targets on coal plants – Tchórzewski

Poland will reduce the share of coal in its power mix only by 50 percent by 2050, missing the EU proposed target to withdraw from coal-powered sources in full, energy minister Krzysztof Tchórzewski said. “By 2050, we can reduce the share of coal in our energy mix to 50 percent, assuming a big effort and costs of some PLN 200 billion, while preserving balanced development of the country without causing high unemployment,” Tchórzewski explained. Accelerating the pace of coal share reduction would result in the need to rise energy prices by 100-150 percent, according to Tchórzewski. He added, that Poland is not marginalizing renewable energy sources. “We live under certain conditions, which makes reducing our dependency on coal very difficult, on the other hand, thanks to it, we have our own energy sources and energy security,” Tchórzewski said.