JS - Much is being said at present about renewable energy, but to what extent are we in Poland making use of it?

PG – Resources of traditional mines fuels – coal and crude oil – are limited, and though we are regularly informed of the discovery of new deposits, to mention but those in the Arctic, the indisputable fact is they will dry up sooner or later. Indeed some estimates speak of them sufficing for only several dozen or even a few hundred years in the best case. In a word, we should make frugal use of them today to have more time to elaborate technologies for new sources of energy. The more so that the mass exploitation of coal and crude oil and their derivatives create a growing danger in the form of climate changes. The continued growth of our civilisation thus requires the discovery of cheap and safe energy sources. The spectrum of insufficient traditional fuels and their rising prices as well as increased ecological awareness and the huge technological progress being made are creating conditions for the greater use of ecological kinds of energy. The immediate purpose is that 20 pct of energy should be generated by renewable source by 2020 in the European Union. In Poland, to the moment, that amounts to just slightly more than 5 pct which speaks convincingly of the tremendous challenge which lies ahead.



-Why is so little use being made of renewable energy?

- Generation of energy from crude oil or coal has been much easier and less expensive till now. The Polish economy is based on these. Switching over to ecological fuels is not simple, the more so that renewable energy is a very wide concept. It comprises energy obtain by diverse technologies from various raw materials. Its use on an industrial scale is complex and frequently requires specialist known-how, devices and large financial outlays. You could safely claim there is plenty of wind and solar rays around us but it is still very difficult to use them as substitutes for energy generated by traditional heat and power stations. The productivity of wind farms and solar collectors is still low compared with traditional energy sources, but the growth of knowledge and introduction of new technologies and materials should result in eliminating such drawbacks.



- Poland surely does not lead the field in promoting such new solutions.

- Great improvements have been registered here in recent years. Solar panels assembled on building roofs are almost a regular element in Poland’s countryside but we can hardly compete with the richest countries which can invest in science and pay investors to use energy-frugal technologies. Western countries have the means and frequently also simple access to one of the sources of renewable energy. But Poland has not been blessed with very great sunshine intensity or an unusually windy climate or even fast-flowing rivers or geothermal water sources. Those sources all exists but in bits and pieces which makes it difficult to use them efficiently. That is why we place emphasis on various ways of generating energy. Construction of wind farms is profitable in some localities while in others heat pumps and solar panels are the best. But that, in turn, requires monitoring, research and analyses which increases costs and is risk-fraught. It is unlikely that constructing wind farms and biogas production systems will resolve all Poland’s energy generation problems. What is of primary importance as coal resources expire and the delivery of hothouse gases has to be restricted is the construction of nuclear power stations.



- That is tantamount to huge expenses

- The use of traditional fuels also costs a lot and, in addition, constitutes a danger to climate and environment. Ensuring inexpensive and safe energy to mankind requires sensible and long-term activities as well as considerable finance. These should be channelled both into great investments such as construction of nuclear power stations and waste incendiary plants as well as various small, though numerous, operations and undertakings which would, in total, bring substantial savings in energy consumption.



- What is the role played by Province Environment Protection and Water Economy Funds in such activities?

- The dangers connected with climate changes impart particular importance to the functioning in Poland of an efficient and effective system to finance ecological undertakings. Its foundations are the national and province environment protection and water economy funds to which finance coming from fees and fines for environment exploitation are channelled. These are then designated in the form of subsidies and loans to support ecological investments including those connected with the use of renewable sources of energy. The money which the province funds do not so much administer as manage are continually in use and encourage ecological undertakings to be tackled. The revenue given by these sixteen Province Funds totalled PLN 700 mln in recent years while the additional financing it gave reach one and a half million zlotys annually. That was the outcome of reliable management of that common finance. And you must remember how modest the beginnings were, the individual funds starting from several to just over ten million zlotys, though their total present value exceeds PLN 5 bln.



- What use is being made of these resources?

- With ever greater efficiency. We recently officially handed the Wielkopolski Province Office confirmation that additional finance had been transferred within the frame of the ecological axis of the Infrastructure and Environment Operational Programmes for Krotoszyn and Rawicz communes, whose projects to streamline water and sewage systems economy had won acceptance in the first competition staged last spring. It must be stressed that the Fund in that Province is one the three province funds which are participating in implementing Regional Operational Programmes for 2007-2013 under agreements reached with province chief administrators. Within the terms of Priority III of the “Natural Environment” of the Wielkopolski Regional Programme which we manage, the available sum amounts to EUR 173.8 mln. That amount is already being delivered to beneficiaries specified in the first competitions. We signed preliminary contracts in January on additional financing for a common project for nine communes along the Noteć River and also to modernise the Ślesiński Canal. Similar undertakings are being implemented with the contribution of Province Funds in other regions of the country.



- But information has been appearing about a slowdown of the national economy which restrictions could also affect ecological investments.

- The recent international climate conference held in Poznań revealed that time is fast running out to oppose the dangers posed by climatic changes and to give renewable energy sources general application. So no savings should be imposed on environment protection. The increasingly severe regulations concerning specific standards and environment norms which have to be reached give full expression to that. That means outlays on environment protection will have to grow, which is both feasible and necessary since investments are an excellent way to animate the economy and create jobs in local communes. In Wielkopolski Province alone we are this year planning to support ecological undertakings by transferring more than PLN 200 mln from our own sources. European Union funds will also be used to a wider extent.



- Could it later appear that EU red tape may impede in transforming those millions of Polish zlotys into “green investments”?

- Simplification of procedures must and should be a target, though procedure principles have been defined and approved so they just will have to be respected. It must be admitted, however, that the large number of rejected applications proves that improvements are required. That apart, we are staging training courses, applicants are gaining experience and drawing up projects should proceeded more efficiently. Many local governments are displaying that good projects can be elaborated and in which invention, consistency and reliability may be displayed. In so doing everyone will have much to gain – residents of communes, the country and environment.



Captions



The President

Hydraulic power station in Prosna

Solar collectors on Wągrowiec hospital

Biogas generating unit on the Poznań city rubbish dump