Poland’s largest PV plant comes online

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Polish electricity provider Zespół Elektrowni Pątnów-Adamów-Konin SA (ZE PAK SA) has announced the completion of its 70 MW solar power project at a depleted area of the extensive Adamów brown coal mine in the center of Poland, in Turek.

“Our modern, and currently the largest solar power plant in Poland is another milestone in the energy transformation of ZE PAK and the entire region of Wielkopolska as well,” the company said in a statement. “We want ZE PAK to generate electricity only from renewable sources by 2030 – including, inter alia, from the sun, wind and biomass.”

The plant was built with 155,554 photovoltaic modules with an output of 455 W each and provided by an undisclosed manufacturer; 306 inverters; and over 900km of cables and optical fibers. “The farm fence itself, with 16 entrance gates, is 12km long,” ZE PAK added. “There are 31 transformer stations on the site of the power plant, each with a capacity of 2 MVA.”

The facility was built thanks to an investment of around PLN163.8 million ($40.4 million), which is significantly less than what the company announced in November 2018, when the project was launched, and the required investment was estimated at PLN200 million ($49.3 million).

Construction works were provided by Polish companies Esoleo sp zoo and Przedsiębiorstwo Remontowe PAK SERWIS sp zoo.

In March, ZE PAK secured a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for the project from Polish telecommunications group Polsat.

The solar park will provide the Polish energy provider with the capacity it lost in January 2018 when the Adamow power station, a five-unit coal-fired plant with a 600 MW capacity at the mine, was closed. According to pro-renewables civil society group Fundacja Rozwój Tak – Odkrywki Nie, the Adamów plant was the 13th most toxic coal-fired power station in Europe in terms of its impact on human health.

ZE PAK is Poland's second-largest electricity provider and has an 8.5% share of the Polish power market, according to its website. The company's largest shareholder is the Polish government, with a 50% stake.

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