Electricity production and SO(sub 2) emissions in Poland's power industry

摘要

The report analyzes how the Polish power industry's electricity production and SO(sub 2) emissions have changed between 1988 and 1994. It examines to what extent the Polish government's reform of air pollution control and its reorganization of the power industry affected power plant's SO(sub 2) emissions in the same period. SO(sub 2) emissions from Polish power plants fell by 37% in 1988-1994. The drop in emissions was partly a result of the fall in economic activity and electricity production in the early 1990s. The main reasons for the emission reduction were the introduction of hard budget constraints, increased coal prices, and stricter enforcement of air pollution control. These reforms created strong incentives for power plants to switch to high-quality coal with lower sulfur content and higher heating value. Improved efficiency of electricity generation also contributed to the fall in SO(sub 2) emissions. 32 refs, 15 figs, 1 tab