Future Polish Zero-Carbon Energy Mix Combining Renewable and Nuclear Energy Sources

Poland, like other countries, must carry out an energy transition in the coming years. Its goal is to participate in global efforts to stop climate catastrophe by reducing anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions to achieve net-zero emissions. Energy transition, meaning departure from fossil fuels, mainly hard coal, lignite and fossil gas, requires using the full portfolio of low-emission sources: nuclear, wind, solar, biomethane, and other available low-carbon sources. The analysis demonstrates Poland's optimal zero-emission energy mix and its comparison with the current fossil-dependent mix, determined from the point of view of the reliability of electricity supply and minimization of its carbon footprint. For this purpose, actual data on the availability of renewable energy in Poland and data from the Polish power system were used, and with Monte Carlo modelling, the final energy mix was selected. It is presented and compared with the theoretical renewable-only alternative mix.