Currently, the national system has approx. 28 GW operating from renewable sources, and connection conditions have been issued for another 48 GW, the Vice President of the Management Board at PSE Tomasz Sikorski informed during a meeting of the subcommittee on critical infrastructure, mining and energy. He added that the challenge until 2030 is, among other things, the demand for this energy.

“According to the connection conditions and transmission agreements, today we have a second electricity system built in renewable sources, because we have 28 GW working in renewable sources. Connection conditions have been issued for a further 48 GW, meaning that the grid will be prepared to go from 30 GW to almost 80 GW from renewable sources. Today, that is three renewable electricity systems. Of course, this does not mean that these 77 GW will be generated, because here the efficiency is lower” – Sikorski said.

He added that currently the national system has approx. 28 GW in renewable sources and about 40 GW of power from conventional sources, i.e. coal, lignite, gas and hydro sources.

“Together this is approx. 70 GW of installed capacity” – he stressed.

He added that the power balance in the medium term, up to 2030, is characterised by significant surpluses during periods when renewable sources are generating and periods with a tight balance during the period when generation from these sources is low.

The Vice-President of PSE said that the transmission grid development plan submitted for approval to the President of the ERO (Energy Regulatory Office) indicates that in the medium term, a deficit in the system of 3.5 GW – 4 GW can be expected in the pessimistic scenario of coal source abandonment.

“This is an insufficiency resulting from the possibility of covering domestic demand by domestic sources, i.e. we have resources in the form of imports, we have DSR, we have investments that can support our balance, but this means that from the point of view of self-sufficiency, this balance is not met in this perspective” – Sikorski stressed.

He pointed out that the operating regime of conventional sources in the national grid is changing – they are becoming sub-peak and often peak sources rather than primary sources. He added that revenues to cover fixed costs are falling and these sources are losing the market, and overhauls are needed to maintain their availability as they stabilise the system.

In his view, the power market is a transitional mechanism, and a long-term mechanism is needed for these sources.

“We have challenges in terms of capacity, not energy. We have energy as such (…), we know that there is even an excess of renewable energy. The challenge is power, that is, to cover temporary demand at times when this renewable generation is insufficient” – he explained.

In this context, he emphasised the role for “sensible electrification” to manage surplus energy from RES.

According to the representative of PSE, energy storage facilities (24 GW should be created) and gas sources (4.6 GW with connection permits) will also have a stabilising effect on the grid.

Source: PAP Business