PGE Group: Just transition for Bełchatów region becoming a fact

'We very much want the Łódzkie Voivodship to be able to access EU funding for just transition. Setting the dates for shutting down the energy units at the plant in Bełchatów and ending extraction at the lignite deposits Bełchatów and Szczerców and thus also withdrawing from the plan to mine the Złoczew deposit are of fundamental significance from the viewpoint of planning the future of the Bełchatów energy complex, its employees and the region's residents. They are also symbolic because the success of Polish energy transition will largely depend on the outcome of this project,' says Wojciech Dąbrowski, CEO of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna.

In the Territorial Just Transition Plan, the Łódzkie Voivodship Marshall presented the dates for shutting down the energy units at the Bełchatów plant. According to data from the Ministry of State Assets, these are: 2030 - 1 unit, 2031 - 1 unit, 2032 - 2 units, 2033 - 2 units, 2034 - 3 units, 2035 - 2 units and 2036 - 1 unit. A plan for ending lignite mining in Bełchatów was also presented - according to the Ministry's data, extraction at the Bełchatów and Szczerców deposits will finish in 2026 and 2038, respectively. The Territorial Just Transition Plan for Łódzkie Voivodship confirms that mining coal from the Złoczew deposit would be permanently unprofitable, hence PGE is not planning to mine lignite there and the area has been added to the transition area.

The Łódzkie Voivodship needs to receive support from the EU's Just Transition Fund in order to be able to implement the decisions that were published in the Territorial Just Transition Plan.

'The Bełchatów energy complex today is the largest employer in the transition area within the Łódzkie Voivodship which is why it is so important for us to appropriately plan its future in a way that makes it possible to minimise the negative socio-economic effects of phasing out activities in the mining and energy sector,' says Grzegorz Schreiber, Marshall of the Łódzkie Voivodship. 'This will be possible only with the launch of systemic projects and development of real possibilities for the existing and future employees of the Bełchatów energy complex to re-skill and develop new professional competences, which is what we are working on,' adds Grzegorz Schreiber.

PGE Group is fully aware of the societal and economic effects of these decisions and the necessity for systemic efforts aimed at securing a future for the employees of the Bełchatów energy complex and residents of the entire transition area within the Łódzkie Voivodship. This is why PGE Group has submitted a range of projects to the Territorial Just Transition Plan, including investments in low- and zero-carbon energy sources: wind farm projects with a capacity of nearly 100 MW, photovoltaic farms with a capacity of approx. 600 MW, an energy storage system with a capacity of up to 300 MW, establishment of a technological centre for renewables on the basis of the existing support companies, which will be transitioning into renewables projects, along with an expansion of the aggregate and limestone business line. PGE Group will spend nearly PLN 5 billion on investments in the first stage of transition in the Bełchatów region.