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Polish mining firms set to profit from green energy transition

29.12.2023 12:00
The transition to green-friendly energy sources, such as wind farms, will fuel demand for raw metals, which is good news for Polish mining companies KGHM and JSW, according to industry experts.
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Photo:https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/R%C3%B8nland_Offshore_Wind_Farm_%285%29.jpg

The ongoing energy transition has helped create demand for raw metals such as steel, says prof. Paweł Bogacz from the AGH University in the southern Polish city of Kraków.

For instance, every 1 MW of power installed on an offshore wind farm requires over 15,000 kilograms of metals, compared to less than 3,000 kilograms for coal-fired power plants, the scholar told the wnp.pl website in an interview published on Friday.

Poland's KGHM, JSW set to profit

This creates "very good prospects," both in the short and long term, for such Polish companies as the state metals miner and maker KGHM, according to prof. Bogacz.

KGHM sells its products domestically, as well as exporting to Germany, the United Kingdom, France, China, and the Czech Republic, among others, the Reuters news agency reported. 

Another firm poised to profit from green energy transition is JSW, the state producer of coking coal that is used by international steel makers, the expert told wnp.pl.

Earlier this month, President Andrzej Duda told reporters at the latest United Nations climate summit, COP28, in the United Arab Emirates, that Poland planned to switch to low-carbon energy "over the next 30 years."

On December 28, the Polish government announced it had received the first tranche of European Union recovery funds, worth EUR 5 billion, for green energy projects.

(pm)

Source: wnp.pl, Reuters