Lignite mining and electricity generation in Poland: The current state and future prospects

This opinion paper presents the current state and future scenarios of Polish lignite mining. For many years, over 1/3 of domestic electricity, that is about 53–55TWh, has been generated by lignite-fired power plants. Currently, with 63–66 million tons of extraction, Poland is the fourth lignite producer worldwide and the second in the European Union. There are three possible scenarios for the development of lignite mining in Poland by 2050. Unfortunately, despite the huge lignite resources, amounting to more than 23.5 billion tons, and great potential of the mining industry, the future of Polish lignite mining does not look optimistic from the economic point of view. This is associated with social and environmental problems, including the European Union's climate and energy policy. However, this may change in the event of a global economic crisis and unstable geopolitical conditions. Therefore, a new energy doctrine for Poland at least by 2050 is urgently needed. •Poland is one of the leaders in lignite production in the European Union.•Energy policy in Poland assumes a key role of lignite in energy mix.•Almost one-third of Polish electricity is currently generated from lignite.•For Polish lignite mining exist pessimistic, realistic and optimistic scenarios.•Extraction of lignite in Poland will gradually decrease in the coming decades.