The just published draft „Energy Policy of Poland until 2040” does not talk about energy policy but about how to maintain the coal structure of the energy sector.
Unfortunately, it does not take into account global trends. In 2030, coal is to still dominate the energy sector and it will be used in 60% for the production of electricity whereas renewable energy sources are to account for 21 percent of final energy consumption and 6-9 GW will be generated by nuclear energy by 2043. And at the end of this document (literally) 23 percent improvement in energy efficiency is expected in 2030 compared to 2007. The freshly adopted EU directive mentions a 32.5 percent target by 2030 compared to the „business as usual” scenario. The National Energy Conservation Agency, on the other hand, estimates that 30-35 percent of energy can be saved, cost-effectively. The overall comparison clearly shows that something that should be the starting point for policy preparation is almost ignored, and if it were not for the EU requirements, this would not be too much of a concern.
Towards effectiveness
So what is this energy efficiency? It defines how much energy we need to use to produce a product or deliver a service. This has a significant impact on the competitiveness and cost of these products and services for consumers and households and gives considerable direct and indirect benefits. Reading this from the point of view of negawatts, instead of building new electricity, heat or fuel generation capacity, it is possible to invest in reducing demand for them at a much lower overall cost. At the same time, we are building a strong market for energy efficiency services, strengthening the local economy and creating local jobs.
The greatest potential for improving energy efficiency lies in buildings and the construction industry.
First of all, this concerns the limitations in the supply of heat. This is where thermal upgrading comes first, reducing the final demand – through improving the quality of the building, replacing windows and doors, managing the exchange of air. This is followed by modernization of internal systems and their control systems. It is important to integrate the efficiency improvement with the development of RES, including the active outdoor area of the building, which leads to a reduction in energy supply from the outside.
