Poland-Czech Republic Pipeline Creates Opportunities for Gas-fired Power Generation

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources Europe (Galway, Ireland)--The opening ceremony of the STORK gas pipeline interconnector between Poland and the Czech Republic has taken place in Cieszyn, Poland, and in the village of Chotebuz on the Czech side of the border. The Polish-Czech interconnector is a joint venture between Polish gas transmission operator Gaz-System SA (Warsaw, Poland) and the Czech Transmission System Operator NET4GAS s.r.o. (Prague, Czech Republic).

The Poland-Czech Republic interconnector will initially enable the import of gas to the Polish transmission system, with a capacity of approximately 500,000 cubic meters annually. The Czech government is also keen to extend the Nabucco pipeline from the Austrian Baumgarten point to Lanzhot in South Moravia. This would enable Poland to directly access gas supplies from the Caspian and Central Asian regions via the Nabucco pipeline through the Czech transit system, and onward via the new Czech-Polish interconnector. This Southern Corridor is seen as a key to Europe's plans to break Russia's grip on the European energy sector. Other projects included in the plan gained momentum with recent European initiatives in gas-rich Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan.

"Construction of the pipeline contributes towards fulfilling increasing transmission capacity requirements, but it is also of strategic importance from the point of view of energy security and diversification of energy sources," said Thomas Kleefuss, the CEO of NET4GAS.

While Poland traditionally has been very heavily reliant on coal-fired power generation, in recent years developers have turned to gas in an effort to switch to low-emission power generation. The new gas supply will help liberalise and deregulate the European gas market, which should contribute to the development of gas-fired power generation in Poland.

IIR is currently tracking almost 5,000 megawatts (MW) of new gas-fired units throughout Poland, including grassroot construction and additions to existing facilities.

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