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We are aware of the fact that our activities, just as any human activity, naturally interfere with the environment. We pursue economic activities in accordance with existing legal regulations and other requirements, including environmental protection norms. We want to be an eco-friendly company operating in full harmony with the environment and promoting sustainable development.
Electricity and heat production from fossil fuels affects the natural environment, which is why we attach great importance to minimising our impact on the environment.
We pay special attention to the development of district heating as we know its positive impact on improving the air quality and the environment. Heat deriving from urban networks is one of the most efficient methods of limiting smog, which – especially in the autumn and winter seasons – is a problem of many Polish cities. Studies show that, depending on the location, one of the main sources of smog is individual heating of buildings with low quality fuels. Heat for space heating, instead of household furnaces, is generated in highly-efficient combined heat and power plants equipped with efficient denitrification, desulphurisation and dust filtering systems. In addition, the co-generation process features the production of electricity, which makes the fuel energy be more efficiently processed and used.
We pay special attention in our activities to co-operation with local authorities and mutually fight the smog problem to improve the residents’ quality of life.
The PGE Group’s District Heating Strategy is a response to the need to improve air quality in cities through massive connections to the heating network and the elimination of old, inefficient and environmentally polluting coal furnaces. The strategy envisions the following developments:
In 2019, on local heat markets, PGE Energia Ciepła connected to the municipal heating networks a record 237.9 MWt, i.e. 43.4 MWt more than in 2018. It is as if a whole city of the size of Gorzów Wielkopolski was con- nected to a heating system in one year.
On markets where PGE Energia Ciepła is only a heat producer 195.5 MWt have been connected, whereas where it operates as an integrated entity and is also a heat distributor, 42.4 MWt have been connected. Nearly 80 percent of connections were carried out in 3 large cities: Kraków, Wrocław and Gdańsk. On the primary market, that is, to newly constructed buildings to which heat flows for the first time, PGE Energia Ciepła connected 173.5 MWt (73% of all connections). However, on the secondary market, i.e. for buildings that have converted heat supply into a municipal heating network, it connected 66.4 MWt.
Irrespective of the development plans, we are continuously investing in our existing assets and the majority of these investments are directly or indirectly related to improving the quality of air and protecting the natural environment.
Consistent investment in our generation assets results in their environmental footprint being minimised. By using best available technologies, we strive for further improvement. In 1989-2019, the Group’s power plants: Bełchatów, Opole, Turów and Dolna Odra, reduced emissions as follows: SO2 by 95%, NOx by 58 %, particulate matter by 99%:
PGE’s installations operate in compliance with IED emission standards or use derogation mechanisms. Derogation is intended to give existing installations additional time to technically adapt to the more rigorous emission requirements specified in the IED or exempt them from the requirement to observe these if modernising such a facility would be unjustified due to a limited expected life-cycle. We also began an adaptation programme for BAT/BREF standards, taking into account the best available technologies. The Bełchatów Power Plant, which is key for Poland’s energy security, is intensely preparing for the entry into force of even more strict standards. It features modernisations aimed at further limitation of nitrogen oxide, sulphur compounds and dust emissions as well as increase in generation effectiveness.
The PGE Group conducts research and implements development programs that, thanks to the latest technologies and solutions, support our core business
and at the same time implement the PGE Group Environmental Policy. These include:
A list of development projects is available here.
The program for adapting generating units to the requirements of the BAT / BREF conclusions was launched by the PGE Group at the beginning of 2019. Since then, five research and development projects have been launched:
