Opole Power Station as a Catalyst for Socio-political Relations – Introduction

The energy security, which in Poland is based on coal, is in apparent contradiction with the EU policy of decarbonisation and the global movement in favour of renewable energy resources… continuing to burn coal may cost Poland too much: it threatens to marginalise this great country and throw it into a neo-nationalist impasse. The expansion of Opole Power Station by two brand new giant blocks is seen locally as a victory for the Opole Silesia. At the same time, it can symbolise the end of the coal epoch in the modern history of Poland. The paper discusses various aspects of the socio-political ramifi cation of the expansion of the Opole Power Station. It is an introduction chapter to the collective monographs which deals with various aspects of mutual impact between the commune of Dobrzeń Wielki and the power station.

The energy security, which in Poland is based on coal, is in apparent contradiction with the EU policy of decarbonisation and the global movement in favour of renewable energy resources… continuing to burn coal may cost Poland too much: it threatens to marginalise this great country and throw it into a neo-nationalist impasse. The expansion of Opole Power Station by two brand new giant blocks is seen locally as a victory for the Opole Silesia. At the same time, it can symbolise the end of the coal epoch in the modern history of Poland. The paper discusses various aspects of the socio-political ramifi cation of the expansion of the Opole Power Station. It is an introduction chapter to the collective monographs which deals with various aspects of mutual impact between the commune of Dobrzeń Wielki and the power station.