Author: Sophie Callahan & Niklas Mischkowski
Redesigned by: Carla Alvarez Gonzalez
Can a coal-powered region become a renewable energy leader?
ZKlaster – the Zgorzelec Cluster for the Development of Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Efficiency – is widely regarded as one of the most successful cases of social innovation in energy in Poland. It aims at setting up a regional Renewable Energy System (RES), to replace the brown coal mining in the region. Representatives of local authorities in the area signed an agreement on the basis of which a “Committee for the Transformation of the Turoszów Region” was established. The role of the Committee is to work for the transformation of the coal region, in accordance with the requirements of national and international law, in cooperation with the European Commission under the "Platform for Coal Regions in Transition". The agreement was initiated by the Poviat Starosty Board (regional adminitration board) of the Zgorzelec county. It aimed at building a multi-stakeholder process, engaging both buisnesses and citizens. One of the key success factors of the cluster can be seen in successfully attracting private business investments into RES infrastructure to build an alternative local energy system, ready to replace the regional coal mine.
Located in the coal-rich TuroszĂłw region of Poland, ZKlaster was established to address the socio-economic and environmental challenges posed by coal dependency. Initiated by the Poviat Starosty Board of Zgorzelec County, this cluster aims to align local energy practices with European Union regulations and global sustainability goals. Its creation was part of a broader effort under the EU's "Platform for Coal Regions in Transition," with the goal of fostering collaboration between stakeholders to phase out coal and promote renewable energy solutions.
ZKlaster refers mostly to EU regulation, as the national level regulations are portrayed mainly as barriers. The following regulations play a role in the institutional work carried out by the cluster:
- RED II directive
- Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive,
- Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive
- the Freedom of Access for information Directive
- Water Framework Directive
- EU ETS
- Fit for 55 policy
At the national level, Poland’s National Energy and Climate Plan for the years 2021–2030 is referenced, as well as the Strategy for Responsible Development (2017) followed by ’Poland’s Energy Policy until 2040’ (2021).
Impact on climate neutrality
ZKlaster aims to accelerate and manage the energy transition in the region, especially the coal exit transition. The Turow mine in the region is one of the largest open cast mines in Poland and closely linked to the mining history of the whole cross-border region (including mining bordering regions in Czech Republic and Germany).
Managing and accelerating the coal exit and the transition to a RES has large direct impacts for achieving climate neutrality. The ZKlaster furthermore holds large potential in showcasing a socio-technical transition model, where a central large coal power plant is substituted with decentral RES, engaging stakeholders in the region and creating a Prosumer-model that creates ownership and social as well as economic benefits.
An innovative approach
ZKlaster aims at demonstrating a portfolio of local and regional RES instalments to phase out coal extraction and coal-based energy production in the region.
Key enablers
- According to research a success factor of the ZKlaster results from the fact that from the beginning it has been conceived as a business venture based on private capital.
- The second important factor is the engagement of people with previous business or technical experience.
- The third success factor is the ability to network efficiently. ZKlaster’s coordinator is also the president of the National Chamber of Energy Clusters, thus a high level of social capital can be assumed as a key enabler.
- The national energy ministry had set up energy clusters via a competition for pilots. This has opened the door to the world of energy for local actors. The very fact of having the logo of the Ministry of Energy and an inscription as "Certified Cluster" for communication materials made local governments take a different approach to discussions on development opportunities. (Dańkowska 2021)
Key inhibiting factors
- he main barrier to the development of clusters is the current law. The definition of a cluster is too general, the benefits of joining a cluster for individual entities are unclear, relations between clusters and distribution network operators are unregulated, and there is a lack of financial incentives.
- At a social level, the most difficult thing was to influence the social awareness, where three generations were brought up on a “coal culture"
Main positive lessons
- Pilots can be set up even in a non-supportive environment
Main barriers found
- Pilots are limited from the top
Potential for reapplication and scale-up
The model of regional RES is in principle replicable to any region that has the natural endowments (being wind or sun as inputs, for RES) and supportive political and economic conditions – ideally at the national level, but as the case illustrates possibly also sufficiently at the regional level.
All images on this site are sourced from zklaster.pl. Video content is sourced from Zklaster YouTube channel.