IGCC Unit at the Bogdanka Mine (coal gasification, Enea/Mitsubishi)
A planned power plant based on integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) coal gasification technology with a capacity on the order of 300–500 MW, which the Enea Group intended to build at the Bogdanka mine near Łęczna in cooperation with the Japanese group Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems. Former Minister of Energy Krzysztof Tchórzewski presented it as a pilot unit that was to be the largest installation of its kind in the world. In 2020 the companies obtained UOKiK approval to establish a joint venture, but that same year work on developing the project was frozen by the Polish side due to doubts about its profitability under the realities of EU climate policy. In 2023 Enea confirmed that its strategy does not envisage the use of IGCC technology and that the project would not enter the implementation phase.
The IGCC unit project at the Bogdanka mine never entered the implementation phase. Despite obtaining UOKiK approval in 2020 for a joint venture between Enea and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, work was frozen by the Polish side in November 2020 due to doubts about profitability under EU climate policy conditions. In 2023 Enea confirmed that its strategy does not envisage IGCC technology and that it does not plan to carry out this project.
How it went
Assessment: settled. Signals only where documented.
Change history
- 2019 stage: announced
Significance
The project was a flagship concept for so-called clean coal in Poland's energy sector – it was to use domestic Bogdanka deposits to produce energy using coal gasification technology, instead of a conventional coal-fired unit. Its abandonment became a symbol of the Enea Group's departure from coal investments in favor of energy transition and the development of renewable energy sources; the role of Bogdanka in the potential project was, in any case, limited solely to fuel supply.
Sources 5 · 4 archived
Every fact on this card comes from the sources below. Next to each source — which fields it supports.
- Rzeczpospolita (energia.rp.pl) 20 Apr 2023StatusInvestorReason for failure
Status „Nasza strategia nie zakłada wykorzystania technologii IGCC, dlatego nie planujemy realizacji tego projektu"
Investor „Projekt związany z technologią IGCC w okolicach Łęcznej był analizowany przez Grupę Enea, nie wszedł jednak w fazę realizacji"
- Parkiet 19 Apr 2023StatusReason for failure
- WNP.pl 20 Nov 2020Reason for failure
Status „prace nad rozwojem projektu zostały zamrożone przez stronę polską"
- Enea łączy siły z Mitsubishi Hitachi. Chcą wybudować blok na zgazowany węgiel w Bogdance ↗ archived ✓Money.pl 2019Stage
Stage „Chcemy wybudować przy kopalni Bogdanka elektrownię 500 MW, (...) która będzie największa na świecie"
- BiznesAlert.pl 2 Sep 2019Stage history
Stage history „Nie zarzucamy planów budowy elektrowni przy kopalni Bogdanka. Chodzi o obiekt na zgazowany węgiel w obiegu zamkniętym"