A gas carrier at an LNG terminal. Picture by Polish LNGOrlen’s second gas carrier is coming to Świnoujście
On June 17, a gas carrier named “Grażyna Gęsicka” set off on its first voyage to Poland with a cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG). The unit will arrive at the President Lech Kaczyński LNG terminal at the end of June this year.
A gas carrier at an LNG terminal. Picture by Polish LNG
The cargo ship was loaded at the Freeport Terminal in the United States. The ship will deliver to Poland a cargo of about 65 thousand tons of LNG.
“Orlen ensures Poland’s energy security by diversifying the directions and sources of gas production. LNG supplied by ships plays a key role in this process. That is why it is so important to ensure the stability of maritime transport, which is guaranteed by the fleet of modern gas carriers built to order by the Orlen Group. Thanks to these units, we not only increase the possibility of obtaining gas, but also gain great flexibility in responding quickly to changes in demand from our customers. At the same time, we are strengthening the group’s position on the global LNG market,” says Daniel Obajtek, CEO of the Orlen Group.
It should be mentioned that the Grażyna Gęsicka carrier is the second unit in the Orlen Group fleet. The first, named “Lech Kaczyński”, has been serving since February this year. So far, it has delivered three LNG cargoes to Poland. The last of them reached Świnoujście on the 8th of June.
The Orlen group’s fleet of gas carriers will comprise a total of eight vessels. Anyone can transport a cargo of LNG, which corresponds to approx. 105 million cubic meters of natural gas in a volatile state. The size of the gas carriers was chosen in such a way as to provide them with a sufficiently large load capacity, and at the same time the ability to dock at almost all liquefaction and regasification terminals in the world. This combination provides high flexibility and efficiency in ship management.
The gas carriers will be used both for servicing Orlen Group’s long-term LNG supply contracts from the United States, but also for transporting cargoes purchased on the spot market. Its own fleet of vessels allows the group to optimally manage these transactions – depending on the market situation, LNG cargoes can be delivered to Poland or redirected to another country.
PGE will receive additional funds for the modernization of the Gubin hydropower plant
“PGE Energia Odnawialna received an additional nearly PLN 2 million of co-financing from the EEA fund for the modernization of the Gubin Hydroelectric Power Plant in lubuskie voivodeship. Earlier, from this source, the company received more than PLN 6 million for this purpose,” said PGE Energia Odnawialna spokesman Maciej Gelberg.
Thus, the project related to the modernization of the hydroelectric power plant received 85 percent of the funding from the financial mechanism of the European Economic Area EEA 2014-2021 and 15 percent from the state budget.
“Thanks to the modernization, the power plant will be able to work flawlessly for the next 40 years, increasing its production capacity by 10 percent – from the current 3,634 MWh to approx. 4,000 MWh. This will allow to meet the electricity demand of nearly 2 thousand households,” Gelberg said.
Gubin hydroelectric power station is one of the oldest hydrotechnical facilities in Poland. It was built in 1905 in the riverbed of the Nysa Łużycka. It has three hydroassemblies with a Kaplan turbine with a total capacity of about 1.1 MW.
PGE Energia Odnawialna, a member of the PGE Capital Group, is currently the largest producer of green energy in Poland. It has 17 wind farms, 29 hydroelectric power plants, four peak-pump power plants and five photovoltaic farms. The total installed capacity of all facilities is 2,427. 7 MW.
Tauron joins PGE’s energy trading platform
Tauron joins the energy trading platform, which is being developed by another Polish energy company, Polska Grupa Energetyczna. It is intended to connect producers and sellers of electricity by making public all offers for the sale of energy that will be available on it.
In connection with the abolition of the so-called exchange obligation PGE prepared an energy trading platform at the beginning of the year. It is intended to connect producers and sellers of electricity by making public all the offers for the sale of energy that will be available on it. According to PGE, the offers will be placed in an anonymous manner, the buyer will only know the energy producer after expressing a desire to buy.
Currently, Fortum Marketing and Sales Polska, PGE Energia Ciepła, PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna, PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna and Tauron Polska Energia operate on the platform.
Tauron is the second entity on the platform, next to conventional energy, which is not part of the PGE Group.
