BTJ 3/2008 - Baltic Transport Journal

The Port of Gdańsk in search for non-standard development paths
Why not a power plant?
Photo: Port of Gdańsk Authority SA
The Port of Gdańsk has always been the traditional transport route
for the Polish mining industry
As hundreds of thousands of tons of coal are transshipped in the
port, why not combust it locally? The Port of Gdańsk Authority is
analysing the construction of a power plant.
According to some forecasts,
electricity might be in short
supply in the Gdańsk Pomeranian
region within the
next 10 years. This may slow
down the economic development
and in several years bring a déja vu of
the communist times with dark streets and periodic
blackouts in housing estates. Therefore,
the construction of a new power plant seems a
matter of urgency for the region.
Fear of nuclear energy
One of the proposed solutions is to return
to the idea of a nuclear plant in the region,
54 | Baltic Transport Journal | 3/2008
first time developed at the turn of the 1970s
and whose construction started in the village
of Żarnowiec 80 km north-west of Gdańsk.
After the fall of communism the idea of the
investment was rejected in a referendum. In
Poland there were still vivid memories of the
Soviet power plant catastrophe in Chernobyl,
Ukraine, and the plant in Żarnowiec was to
be constructed with the use of similar technology.
And, even though there are many
power plants in neighbouring countries, such
as Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia,
Ukraine and Lithuania, they are still viewed
with a great deal of suspicion in Poland.
Therefore, the recent announcement from the
Polish government of a possible nuclear pow-
er sector development has been received with
concern, especially in Pomerania. Although
the document entitled “Power Policy of Poland
until 2030” does not give a specific site
for a future plant, Żarnowiec has been mentioned
unofficially as a good location.
Opponents of the nuclear power energy
are not convinced even though this time
state-of-the-art and the safest know-how
would be used, previously proven to work in
many EU countries. Even this argument may
be reversed and protested, as almost 100% of
the technology, equipment and raw materials
will have to be imported.
The port is rich in coal
An alternative idea has recently come
up, namely a coal power plant in the Port
of Gdańsk. Why at the Port? Because it is
the traditional transport route for the Polish
mining industry.
Following the initiative of the Port of
Gdańsk Authority, a meeting was held in
March with a team of experts appointed to
prepare an initial analysis of the idea.
According to the first premises the plant
would produce a power of 1000-2000 MW. It
has also been assumed that due to the crosslocal
and cross-regional importance of the
investment, it would require the cooperation
of the port’s authorities with PGE SA (Polish
power networks) and the government bodies
at all levels. However, a technology has not yet
been selected, and the issue has been left for
further consultation.
Nevertheless, the meeting provided a hierarchy
of initial problems:
– organizational, legal and the technical feasibility
of connecting and distributing electricity
throughout the Polish electrical networks;
– determining the parity of acceptable gas and
dust pollution, disposal of water into the
Bay of Gdańsk and other options for managing
solid waste;
– analysis of possible investment financing
with the use of EU support for so-called
pure technologies;
– conditions of transport and storage of carbon
dioxide, obtaining the required support
in anticipation of local opposition.
In fact, as soon as the news of the
planned power plant in the port spread, the