Conditions, Requirements, and Directions of Development for the Pumped-Storage Power Plants in Poland
Mariusz Lewandowski, Stanisław Lewandowski, Janusz Steller, Katarzyna Trojanowska
This paper refers to the Report of the Expert Team appointed by the Prime Minister (Ordinance of the Prime Minister No. 351/2021) published in December 2022, entitled: The Role of Pumped-Storage Power Plants in the National Energy System: Conditions and Directions of Development”. The authors of the paper point to the incomplete diagnosis presented in the Report, concerning the current role and use of the pumped-storage hydropower plants in the National Energy System. Since the Report indicates Młoty as a priority project for the development of pumped-storage energy in Poland, the paper mentions the more than fifty-year history of the construction of this power plant, suspended or revived in the rhythm of political and social turns. Justifications for subsequent actions reaching back to studies selected “according to the thesis” led to the ineffective spending of significant funds. This example shows the desirability of long-term planning in the energy sector and links these plans with the development of other sectors of the economy. The authors of the paper indicate risks which may arise from the achievement of the objectives set out in the report in connection with the very broad investment front proposed therein, especially in connection with plans in other areas of the energy sector (generation, transmission grid). They also emphasize that some of the plans, especially regarding the storage capacity needed by the energy sector, can be implemented relatively quickly and at a much lower cost by changing the work regime or modernizing the existing hydropower plants.
More in the issue 7/2023 Energetyki.
