polish miner pgg plans new mine as u.n. seeks end to coal era - electricity storage
* Pgg ceo said Poland needs to change out of focus on the Earth, unless there is an alternative transition plan that includes the provision of services, Anna Cooper and Barbara Lewis Katowice December 8, PolandReuters)-Polish state-
Owned PGG, the largest thermal coal producer in the EU, said it plans to sink a new mine near the United StatesN.
The world is in talks to get rid of fossil fuels.
The emilin North project, about 20 kilometers from kat Weiz, costs at least 1 pound.
5 billion zloty ($400 million)
The company's chief executive, Tomasz Rogala, told Reuters that PGG provided up to half of the money.
The Polish president said this week that he would not allow anyone to "murder coal", which angered many of the thousands of delegates representing nearly 200 countries.
Rogala expects the new mine to be completed in about five years with reserves of 60 million tons.
In contrast, the annual output of PGG is approximately 30 million tons.
Although coking coal is listed on the EU's strategic mineral list for its use in steel, coal for power generation is more difficult to justify.
Rogala said he understands the need to move forward from the coal industry, but must first find alternative energy sources.
"I am under pressure to look for a new business," he said . " He added that coal generation will be out of date when effective power storage is developed. Large-
For those who like green energy, mass battery storage is the holy grail as it will make wind and solar as reliable as coal, nuclear and natural gas. “It (Battery storage)
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"The first effective power storage will end coal generation," Rogala said . ".
"We have to stop climate change.
But I don't agree that coal in Europe is responsible (alone)
"Since the maximum use of coal is elsewhere," he added . ".
Rogala said that in the past 40 years, coal production in Poland has decreased by 100 million tons, while global coal production has at least doubled and electricity demand is growing.
Currently, Rogala says Poland needs this fuel because it does not have nuclear power to generate electricity and does not want to rely on fuel imported from Russia.
PGG has a transition plan that includes the provision of its technical services to other Polish industries, such as precision welding, and the production of natural gas from coal as a raw material for the energy and chemical industries.
The purpose of this is to create jobs, says Rogala, with wages equal to coal. In West Asia, coal wages are about 50% higher than the average. ($1 = 3. 7679 zlotys)($1 = 0. 8782 euros)(
Editor Alexander Smith)