Photovoltaic farm in Brudzewo
One of the most prominent directions of ZE PAK's new strategy is the harnessing of solar energy.
The Commune of Brudzew was chosen as the site for the first photovoltaic farm; the installation is located in the area of the former Koźmin open pit operated by PAK KWB Adamów. The Koźmin opencast ended its operation in June 2016. The reclamation plan for the post-mining area originally envisaged reclamation towards water (creation of four reservoirs: Głowy, Koźmin, Janiszew and Koźmin Końcowy) and reclamation in the agricultural and forestry direction. These plans were accompanied by a project for a photovoltaic farm, located in the eastern part of the Brudzew Commune within the boundaries of the villages of Janiszew and Koźmin.
On 28 October, the photovoltaic farm in the Brudzew Commune was opened. It is the largest solar power plant in Poland, which is starting to operate and produce clean and green energy. The farm was set up on the initiative of Zygmunt Solorz and is one of the stages of ZE PAK's transition to clean energy generation and departure from lignite.
“This is one of the largest green energy investments undertaken by private capital in Poland. Our cutting-edge and currently the Poland's largest solar power plant is another milestone in the energy transition of both ZE PAK and the entire Greater Poland region. We are committed to ensuring that by 2030 PAK will be generating energy exclusively from renewable sources – including but not limited to the sun, wind and biomass. We are also about to launch the production of green hydrogen in Konin, which is the fuel of the future”,
– says Piotr Woźny, President of ZE PAK SA.
The investment is located in an area of approx. 112 hectares. It was constructed using photovoltaic modules with a capacity of 450 W (155,000 units), 185 kW inverters and 20/0.4 kV transformers as well as a 110/20/20/kV power evacuation transformer.
The nominal capacity of the Brudzew farm which is 70 MW makes it one of the largest systems of its kind in Poland and one of the most power-efficient in Central Europe. The project to build the solar farm was carried out by Esoleo, a company belonging to the Cyfrowy Polsat Group, together with PAK SERWIS from the ZE PAK Capital Group. During the construction of the farm, ESOLEO engaged, among others, former miners who have been retrained and are now implementing further renewable energy projects.
“The district of Turek and Brudzew – a few years ago the area of a lignite mine, today the production of green energy – is a real symbol of the Polish energy transition. Thanks to a net investment of PLN 163.8 million – entirely developed with private money – the reclaimed land has regained its use value and is an example of how to pursue Poland's energy transition, including the creation of new jobs for those leaving the mining industry”,
– adds Piotr Woźny, President of ZE PAK SA.
The photovoltaic farm in Brudzew will contribute to reducing the increase in atmospheric temperature – which is currently essential to halt the rise in global warming. Annually, the plant is expected to generate around 68,188 MWh, which will translate into a reduction in CO2 emissions of 56.7 thousand tonnes of CO2 per year. In this context, it is worth bearing in mind that the current high energy prices are, among other things, the result of a gigantic increase in the cost of CO2 emission allowances – over the past year, the cost of emitting one tonne of CO2 has risen by 156% from €22.98 per tonne to circa €59.
- Green energy from Brudzew flowed two days before the start of the COP 26 Climate Summit, known as the 'last chance summit' for the world to agree to halt global warming. – Such investments show that with the agreement of everyone: business, residents and local government, we can win this race for climate protection.
- says Mariusz Klimczak, President of ESOLEO Sp. z o.o.
Ryszard Mycek, CEO of PAK SERWIS highlights that the Brudzew power plant is the first D-type energy generation module in Poland to pass ION certification according to the new NC RfG grid code.
For PAK SERWIS, working on this project was extremely important, as it allowed us to prove that ZE PAK's maintenance company is perfectly suited to the large-scale RES investment market. The scope of our work included, among other things, the reconstruction of the Main Power Supply Point used in the past by the Adamów Lignite Mine for the purpose of power evacuation from the Brudzew PV Farm, the supply and commissioning of 31 0.8/20 kV transformer substations or the commissioning of the control and monitoring system of the Brudzew PV Farm along with communication with the power dispatch centre of Energa Operator.
For the construction of the power plant, in addition to the modules, 306 inverters and more than 900 km of cables and fibre optic cables were used. The fencing of the farm itself, to which 16 entrance gates lead, is 12 km long. There are 31 transformer substations, each with a capacity of 2MVA. The pallets left over from the photovoltaic modules have been recycled into plywood panels, which will be used to make furniture.
“ZE PAK SA's construction of a photovoltaic farm on land where until recently lignite was mined is perfectly in line with the process of the just transition of one of Poland's major mining regions, namely Eastern Greater Poland. This will be the first investment of this scale in Poland. It will be built by, among others, employees of the energy and coal sector and will become a symbol of the transformation of this sector”.
– Piotr Woźny President of the Management Board of ZE PAK S.A.
Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPS7MndTvlw&t=1s
