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The PGE Group makes investments of high value and significance for the entire Polish economy.
In 2019 we completed the largest infrastructure investment in Poland after 1989 – construction of state-of-the-art, high-efficiency energy units in Opole power plant. In 2018, we commissioned a municipal waste processing system with energy recover in Rzeszów.
We also continued the construction of a new power unit in Turów power plant and the modernization of units in power plants and CHP plants in terms of their adaptation to environmental requirements resulting from the BAT conclusions. At the end of 2019, a decision was taken to build new gas-fired units with a capacity of approx. 1 400 MW at the Dolna Odra Power Plant, and in January 2020 we signed a contract with the general contractor.
In 2019, the PGE Group spent a total of PLN 7 billion for investments and from 2007, the Group’s companies made investment allocations of approximately PLN 77 billion.
In the area of Renewables, thanks to the RES auction won in 2018, we implemented the construction of the Starza / Rybice and Karnice II onshore wind farm complex (former Klaster project) with a capacity of 97 MW in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship.
Both farms were commissioned in 2020, contributing to the strengthening of the PGE Group’s position as the national leader in the RES market.
We are also intensively preparing for the implementation of the Baltic wind farms development plan, which will constitute a very important pillar of the transformation of the Polish energy sector. Our ambition is to achieve 2.5 GWe by 2030, and we want to implement projects in cooperation with an experienced partner from the industry – we have signed a preliminary agreement with Orsted and by the end of 2020 we intend to conclude an appropriate investment agreement.
Capital expenditures in the Distribution segment, amounting to PLN 2.2 billion, were 20% higher than in 2018 and accounted for approx. 31% of the Group’s annual capital expenditures. The largest expenditure, amounting to PLN 757 million, was incurred to connect new customers to the distribution network.
We also execute many smaller-scale, but equally important projects. They include works aimed at maintaining the grids’ quality and modernisation, which improve the generation effectiveness and reduce the effects on the natural environment.
A natural challenge due to the on-going climate changes and CO2 emissions is the diversification of generation sources towards low or zero-emission sources, thereby reducing our exposure to increases in emission allowance prices. These are the factors that affect our investment decisions. The completion of the commenced undertakings will contribute to avoiding emissions of 60 million tons of CO2 in the period of 2016-2026.
The construction of units 5 and 6 with a total capacity of 1 800 MW at the Opole Power Plant was the biggest energy investment in Poland after 1989. It is an enormous undertaking in terms of designing, organisational, training, logistic as well as construction and assembly. In the entire cycle of construction of new power units at the Opole Power Plant, as many as 54 thousand people were involved and carried out a total of nearly 40 thousand collections, including as much as 29 thousand in the construction industry, 8 thousand in the technology industry and approx. 2 thousand in works related to the start-up of new units. The entire as-built documentation is collected in approx. 18 thousand binders. At the peak of the investment, about 5 500 people worked at the construction site. The contract worth approximately PLN 11 billion net was carried out by a consortium consisting of: Rafako, Polimex-Mostostal, Mostostal Warszawa and GE Power, which was the general designer, supplier of key devices and the consortium’s representative. As much as 70 percent of the value of all orders at the construction site was granted to Polish companies, and from each zloty we spent as much as 70 groszy remained in the country.
Unit No. 5 was commissioned on May 31, 2019, and unit No. 6 – on September 30, 2019. The Opole Power Plant is currently at the forefront of the most modern power plants in the world and satisfies 8 percent of the total domestic electricity demand. The energy produced may supply as many as 4 million households. Thanks to the use of state-of-the-art technologies, the efficiency of electricity production in new units is at the level of approx. 46%, which will translate into a significant reduction of the power plant’s environmental impact. The new power units are low-emission and comply with the strict environmental standards of the European Union. For every kilowatt-hour of electricity produced in Opole’s units, two to four times less sulfur and nitrogen oxides will be emitted, and the unit carbon dioxide emission is lower by approx. 20%.
The construction of a modern and highly efficient power unit in Turów is not only one of the most state-of-the-art units in the world, but also it also guarantees the prolonging of operation of the Turów mining and generation complex until the entire brown coal deposits are exploited from the nearby mine, thereby ensuring many appealing workplaces and further, good functioning of the region’s economy in the coming years. A net PLN 4 billion contract is executed by the consortium of Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe, Budimex and Técnicas Reunidas. The average daily employment at the construction site amounts to approx. 1 800.
The use of state-of-the-art technological solutions is to guarantee high efficiency of electricity production and allow for full and effective use of brown coal resources from the Turów Brown Coal Mine, with simultaneous maintenance of all green standards. The new unit will meet the strict environmental protection standards. In comparison to the shutdown units no. 8, 9 and 10, its SO2 emission will be reduced by nearly 20 times and the dust emission – by approx. 10 times. Due to the climate policy’s requirements, the unit will be prepared for the construction of the system of carbon dioxide extraction from fumes.