Polish Coal Affection Poses Dilemma for Funding-Hungry Firms
- Local companies see risk of coal-related funding shortage
- Compromise needed to provide clear energy mix outlook
Bulldozers arrange stores of coking coal in a storage dump at the Bielszowice mine, operated by Kompania Weglowa SA, in Ruda Slaska, Poland, on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2015. Silesia's 100,000 miners dig some 140 million metric tons of coal a year.
Photographer: Bartek Sadowski/BloombergAs Poland is reluctant to budge in its feud with Europe over coal, some of the country’s biggest power and mining companies admit it may be the time to change the course.
The European Union’s largest eastern economy argues it needs coal plants, fired by local resources, to ensure energy security and cheap electricity. That goes against the bloc’s policy of heavy cuts in carbon-dioxide emissions and often leaves Poland stranded in its approach to the dirty fuel. The business, even state-controlled, is voicing concern over the consequences it may entail.