Assessment of Options for Replacement of Bełchatów Lignite Power Plant

The report evaluates options for replacing Poland's Bełchatów Lignite Power Plant, concluding that a 'Coal Exit' strategy by 2035—replacing coal with renewables (RES) and gas—is more cost-efficient and beneficial for health and employment than maintaining current policies. The Coal Exit scenario is projected to reduce CO2 emissions by 38% and total system costs by €64 billion compared to the Reference scenario, while increasing total employment by 76%. Specifically, phasing out Bełchatów earlier contributes €4 billion to these savings and approximately 50 million tonnes to the overall CO2 reduction.

• A 'Coal Exit' strategy by 2035 is more cost-efficient than the Reference scenario, with total system cost savings of €64 billion, which represents 9.5% of overall system costs.
• The Coal Exit scenario significantly reduces emissions compared to the Reference scenario, lowering CO2 emissions by 38% and other emissions (such as SOx, NOx, and dust) by 42-64%.
• Phasing out the Bełchatów Lignite Power Plant earlier than in the Reference scenario specifically contributes €4 billion to the total system savings and approximately 50 million tonnes to the total CO2 reduction of the Coal Exit scenario.
• The transition to a Coal Exit scenario is projected to increase employment opportunities for the Polish workforce, with direct employment estimated to be 45% higher and total employment (including indirect effects) 76% higher than in the Reference scenario.
• Security of supply in the Coal Exit scenario is maintained through the use of natural gas and potential storage as back-up, while the increased deployment of renewables reduces Poland's dependency on power imports.
• While the Coal Exit scenario reduces coal reliance, it leads to increased natural gas demand, which the report states is consistent with Poland's strategy to diversify gas sources via LNG and the Baltic pipeline.

APA

ClientEarth (2019). Assessment of Options for Replacement of Bełchatów Lignite Power Plant. https://www.clientearth.org/media/1mefgnew/assessment-of-options-for-replacement-of-the-belchatow-lignite-power-plant-ext-en.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Assessment of Options for Replacement of Bełchatów Lignite Power Plant. 2019. https://www.clientearth.org/media/1mefgnew/assessment-of-options-for-replacement-of-the-belchatow-lignite-power-plant-ext-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=Assessment of Options for Replacement of Bełchatów Lignite Power Plant |date=July 2019 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/1mefgnew/assessment-of-options-for-replacement-of-the-belchatow-lignite-power-plant-ext-en.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2019assessment, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Assessment of Options for Replacement of Bełchatów Lignite Power Plant}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2019}, month = jul, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/1mefgnew/assessment-of-options-for-replacement-of-the-belchatow-lignite-power-plant-ext-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }