Infrastruktura - Środowisko - Energia
Dodatek lobbingowy do "RZECZPOSPOLITEJ".
9 września 2008 r.

po polsku

Mr Donald Tusk
Prime Minister of Polish Republic

Dear Prime Minister,

I wish to inform you that since 2005 has been operating as a community initiative a Steering Committee, the aim of which is to develop the Legnica Mining and Energy Centre for Brown Coal. I was chosen its chairman while the Committeee presidium consists of distinguished representatives of Polish economy and science associated with mining and energy industry. The Committee has attended many discussions and meetings, among others Polish Mining Congress in Cracow in September 2007. It has also organized touring sessions to BOT Brown Coal Mines “Bełchatów" and “Turów" together with the representatives of regional autonomous governments from Legnica and Lubin. The purpose of these meetings was to familiarize local authorities with real problems of mining industry and to show perspectives for economic development in their districts, the profits which may derive from brown coal mining and its processing into electric energy.

In a few years, Poland will face the problem of insufficient supply of electric energy, and since 2020 onwards also the problem of drastic limitations in brown coal mining and its use for producing the cheapest electric energy. Due to these facts, the strategic aim for the Steering Committee is, among others, prepearing the possibilities for developing the Legnica centre for mining and production of cheap and fine energy in order to secure stability in Polish energy sector in the coming years.

Therefore, the main course of action for the Committee in the nearest future is to raise awareness among all authorities interested in and responsible for Poland’s power sector that our country has all assets to develop the electrical power engineering on its own domestic resources, primarily on brown coal whose supplies are estimated as the biggest in Europe.

The following arguments expressed in the theses below explain best our view:

1. The forecasted increase in demand for electric energy in Poland is relatively high, and for 5-year periods till 2025 will range from 23,2 to 47,2 TWh. In order to guarantee electric energy supply in such quantities, in each of these periods one will have to provide one working power plant with the installed power of 4 to 5 thousand MW.

2. At present, brown coal is the cheapest fuel for electric energy production in Poland and all over the world. Specialists predict that this trend will stand firm in long perspective as the other kinds of fuel wil be exhausted soon and the new resources will offer worse geological and mining conditions; in other words they will be more expensive. Poland produces now about 34 per cent of electric power energy in the brown coal-fired power plants that give power of about 9.000 MW. Thus produced energy is 20 per cent cheaper than the one obtained from hard coal.

Recent times have also proved growing significance of brown coal as a raw material to be processed into gas and liquid fuels.

3. Preparing a new mining and energy production centre is of strategic significance for Poland. In the future, it could replace the centres that are being exploited today. The Legnica basin with resources of about 14.5 billion Mg and the Gubin basin with about 4.25 billion Mg are best suited for intensive mining. Both these basins provide supplies a few times bigger than the overall production conducted in the operating brown coal mines up till now.

4. In order to excavate the first tones of brown coal from the Legnica basin in 2020, one should start exploration and planning already in 2008. Decisions crucial for these projects should be taken with no delay.

5. The construction of the coal-mine and a power plant operating on the Legnica resources should be immediately included in the territorial planning on the voievodship and local administrative levels together with the existing and being developed building grounds (for example the transit road S-3 on the division Lubin-Legnica). Special regard should be paid to the areas of investment which ought to be included in the governmental programmes as the undertaking of public utility with global significance.

6. To protect the investment itself and to ensure security in Polish energy sector in general, the strategic investors should include Polish companies such as e.g. Polish Energy Group or KGHM Polska Miedź S.A [KGHM Polish Copper Ltd]. More detailed specifications on deveolping the Legnica Mining and Energy Centre are also to be found in the Annex 1.

We want to stress that we remain at your disposal. We are ready to meet if such possibility appears, and ready to participate in this most fundamental issue which means stable energy sector for Our Homeland.

Chairman of the Steering Committee
Rector of Mining and Metallurgy Academy in Cracow
Prof. Ph.D Antoni Tajduś

Cracow, 27 November 2007

www.agh.edu.pl