Alstom Joins Troubled Polish Power Project

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - French engineering firm, Alstom S.A. (ENX:ALO) (Paris, France), is aiming to get one of Poland's leading power projects off the ground.

The company has agreed to help coordinate the proposed project to build two 900-megawatt (MW) coal-fired units at the Opole power plant in southern Poland, a project that has previously been cancelled. Poland's largest power company, Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) (PW:PGE) (Warsaw, Poland), cancelled the project in April blaming falling electricity prices, weak demand and claiming the project would be a risky investment for its shareholders. However, in June, government pressure saw the company announce plans to revive the €2.7 billion ($3.5 billion) project. For additional information, see June 26, 2013, article - Pressure On to Revive Polish Power Project.

Alstom will work with firms Rafako (Racibórz, Poland), Polimex-Mostostal SA (WAR:PXM) (Warsaw, Poland) and Mostostal Warszawa (Warsaw, Poland) to get the project underway.

Poland relies on coal for more than 90% of its electricity and is under pressure from the European Union (E.U.) to reduce its reliance on fossil-fuel powered electricity in favour of more renewable energy. Despite huge reserves of coal, the country is facing risks to its electricity security within three years, according to the Ministry for the Economy. For additional information, see August 12, 2013, article - Poland Faces Energy Crisis.

The troubled Opole II project ran into more trouble in September when a number of European politicians petitioned the European Commission (E.C.) to stop Poland from building the new units because there is no provision for the inclusion of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. Calling the project 'illegal' they said the project ran against the E.C.'s CCS Directive which requires those planning new gas and coal power stations with a capacity exceeding 300 (MW) to ensure they are made CCS-ready for capturing carbon and other gases. For additional information, see September 4, 2013, article - Poland's New Coal-Fired Project Called 'Illegal'.

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