PTEC: Decarbonising Poland’s heating sector could cost up to PLN 466 billion by 2050

The decarbonisation of Poland’s heating sector will require significant investment, with costs projected between PLN 299 billion and PLN 466 billion by 2050, according to a report by the Polish Society of Thermal Energy (PTEC), formerly known as the Polish Society for Thermal Power Plants (PTEZ). The report emphasizes that achieving these goals will require collaboration among all participants in the heat market.

PTEC has also rebranded to reflect its new mission of promoting sustainable heating solutions in line with European Union climate and energy policies. “Today, district heating in Poland provides thermal comfort for over 15 million people. However, most of the heat still comes from coal,” said Dariusz Marzec, President of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna and PTEC. He highlighted that nearly PLN 500 billion is needed for the sector’s transformation, underscoring the importance of creating a supportive legal and regulatory environment, fostering cooperation, and developing financial tools to meet climate neutrality milestones.

The report identifies key technologies that will drive the decarbonisation of Poland’s heating systems, including:

• Gas sources
• Biomass
• Geothermal energy
• Large-scale heat pumps
• Electrode boilers powered by renewable electricity
• Waste heat recovery
• Decarbonized gases

PTEC’s analysis shows that implementing the EU’s “Fit for 55” climate package will require substantial spending across multiple areas:

• PLN 102-211 billion on production infrastructure
• PLN 82-106 billion on transmission and distribution networks
• PLN 115-149 billion on modernizing collection systems

The total investment needed by 2050 ranges from PLN 299 billion to PLN 466 billion, depending on the scenario. The report stresses that effective decarbonization will depend on the involvement of all heat market participants, as their actions are interdependent.

Among its recommendations, PTEC suggests regulatory changes to accelerate the transformation, including:

• Compensating key units for availability in the national power system
• Introducing support mechanisms for Power-to-Heat technologies
• Qualifying heat from renewable sources for energy efficiency metrics
• Expanding the market for trading guarantees of renewable heat origin

Krzysztof Zamasz, Vice President of Veolia Energia Polska, emphasized the importance of financial support for energy companies, as well as the need to adjust heat tariffs to accommodate the sector’s decarbonization. “Investment-backed companies need broad access to financial resources to achieve these goals,” Zamasz stated, noting that simplifying administrative procedures will be essential to accelerating the transformation.

The report concludes that speeding up the investment process, especially regarding environmental impact assessments and heating network upgrades, is critical for Poland to meet its decarbonization targets.

Source: PTEC and ISBnews
Photo: Dariusz Marzec, President of the Management Board of PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna