Gubin Power Project
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Gubin Power Project is a cancelled power station in Gubin, Lubuskie, Poland.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Gubin Power Project | Gubin, Lubuskie, Poland | 51.948982, 14.728458 (approximate) |
The map below shows the approximate location of the power station.
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 1 | cancelled | coal - lignite | 3000 | supercritical | 2020 | – |
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner |
|---|---|
| Unit 1 | Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA (PGE) [100.0%] |
Project-level coal details
- Coal source(s): Gubin mine
Background
According to PGE's 2012 strategy report, Gubin Power Project will move forward "[if] climate policy allows for economic validity of the project. The project has a proposed commercial operation date of 2030. Project plans include possible extension of the new plant with carbon capture and storage.[1]
According to PGE's 2014 strategy report, the company is seeking the required administrative permits for 860 million tonnes of lignite at the Gubin deposit.[2]
In August 2014, PGE stated that it plans to launch the first investment connected with the construction of a lignite mine in Gubin in 2018. According to the company, construction of a 2,700 - 3,000 MW coal plant would begin in 2025, with completion in 2030.[3]
In August 2016 plans for the lignite strip mine to supply the proposed plant were suspended by an administrative decision of the Regional Directorate for Environmental Protection. The Directorate said there were gaps in the mine plan that undercut the extent of the environmental effects, and called on PGE to remedy the deficiencies. Until then the permitting process is considered suspended. PGE said they plan to continue with the project.[4]
In May 2017 PGE said the decision to move the project forward will be taken after 2020, and said they are considering building a nuclear plant instead of a coal plant.[5]
In August 2019, mine sponsor Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) abandoned plans for the proposed Gubin-Brody lignite mine after a decade-long campaign against the project by local residents and Greenpeace Poland. With the mine cancelled, it is likely the coal plant will be cancelled as well.[6]
In its 2019 annual report, state-owned utility PGE omitted any mention of the proposed Gubin lignite coal mine and associated power plant. According to Beyond Coal Europe: "The absence of the Gubin coal mine project in PGE’s financials is proof that the company has abandoned the project."[7]
Opposition
The planned investment in the Gubin Power Project caused protests among inhabitants of the Gubin and Brody districts. PGE claims the project could displace 2,300 persons.[8]
On August 26, 2014, local communities near Gubin received international support when 28 different countries formed a 8km long human chain that stretched between the villages of Kerkwitz in Germany and Grabice.[9] Specifically, 7,500 protestors formed a chain, opposing the counter-productive coal plants.[10]
In 2015, local communities near Gubin and Brody gained legal support from the Frank Bold Foundation. The Foundation submitted a complaint to the United Nations Aarhus Committee, arguing that local opinion was not taken into account when drafting the coal plant construction.[11] The report highlighted that a vast majority of the people in the western Poland villages of Gubin and Brody voted against the plan to start the Gubin power plant. Local mayors were also reported to oppose the plan. However, their opposition was not taken into consideration, supposedly, by the more high-ranking politicians.[12]
In 2016, the cross-border consultations on the Gubin mine revealed how the mine would lead to displacement of up to 3,000 people, destruction of forests, and disturbance of water.[13]
In February 2019, the Air Pollution & Climate Secretariat (AirClim) published a report by Fredrik Lundberg, an energy policy specialist in Sweden. He urged for the stop of production of the Gubin power plant, citing that it would release half a billion tons of CO2 if it were to be built.[14]
Though the PGE company omitted Gubin coal mine from its latest financial report, as of April 2020, environmental activists urged the company to stop other mining efforts. The Europe Beyond Coal campaign director, Kathrin Gutmann, explained that the absence of the Gubin plant project is “proof that the company has abandoned the project” and suggested financial and environmental caution with businesses like PGE.[15]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ "Creating value and safe future PGE Group Strategy 2012-2035," PGE, Feb. 2012.
- ↑ "2014-2020 PGE Strategy," PGE, accessed August 2014
- ↑ "PGE chce uruchomić elektrownię Gubin o mocy 2700-3000 MW w 2030 r." ISBnews, 25 August 2014
- ↑ "Plany budowy kopalni odkrywkowej w Gubinie wstrzymane," Greenpeace Poland, Aug 10, 2016
- ↑ "PGE: decyzja o budowie elektrowni jądrowej po 2020 roku," Cire, May 15, 2017
- ↑ "Sukces mieszkańców i ekologów: kopalnia odkrywkowa w Gubinie nie powstanie," Greenpeace, 27/08/2019
- ↑ "15 villages saved as PGE abandons Gubin mega mine due to bleak coal financials". Europe Beyond Coal. April 2, 2020. Retrieved 2020-04-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "PGE power plans to launch investment in Gubin lignite mine in 2018," WSE, 5.08.2014
- ↑ “The Gubin-Brody Lignite Mine Poland”, Environmental Justice Atlas, January 29, 2018.
- ↑ “Thousands protest coal mining at German-Polish border”, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, August 26, 2014.
- ↑ “The Gubin-Brody Lignite Mine Poland”, Environmental Justice Atlas, January 29, 2018.
- ↑ “Lignite Mine Gubin”, Frank Bold, Last accessed May 31, 2021.
- ↑ “The success of residents and environmentalists: the opencast mine in Gubin will not be built”, Greenpeace Poland, Translated by Google, August 27, 2019.
- ↑ “Phasing out coal in Europe by 2025”, AirClim, Feburary 2019.
- ↑ “15 villages saved as PGE abandons Gubin mega mine due to bleak coal financials”, Europe Beyond Coal, April 2, 2020.
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
