To Whom Should We Grant a Power Plant? Economic Effects of Investment in Nuclear Energy in Poland
Poland is the most coal-dependent economy and one of the biggest polluters in the EU. In order to alleviate this problem, meet CO<sub>2</sub> emission requirements set by EU, and improve the country’s energy security, Poland decided to introduce nuclear power to its energy mix. So far, s...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-05-01
|
| Series: | Energies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/11/2687 |
| _version_ | 1797566956100911104 |
|---|---|
| author | Katarzyna Zawalińska Jouko Kinnunen Piotr Gradziuk Dorota Celińska-Janowicz |
| author_facet | Katarzyna Zawalińska Jouko Kinnunen Piotr Gradziuk Dorota Celińska-Janowicz |
| author_sort | Katarzyna Zawalińska |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Poland is the most coal-dependent economy and one of the biggest polluters in the EU. In order to alleviate this problem, meet CO<sub>2</sub> emission requirements set by EU, and improve the country’s energy security, Poland decided to introduce nuclear power to its energy mix. So far, several potential locations for nuclear power plants have been officially proposed, mainly based on technical parameters, but no comparisons of the economic impact of such locations have been considered. Consequently, the main goal of this paper is to compare the national and regional economic effects of investments in nuclear power plants—for both the construction and exploitation phases—in the four most probable locations, which are similarly beneficial from a technical point of view. In order to simulate these effects, the spatial recursive dynamic Computable General Equilibrium model was calibrated until 2050 including agglomeration effects and featuring the regional economies of all Polish regions. The results show that although the construction phase is beneficial for economic development in all four regions, the exploitation phase is good for only one. The economies of the other regions suffer, to a greater or lesser extent, from the Dutch disease. The paper argues that the regional economic effects of such an investment differ significantly, due to differences in the regions’ economic structures; hence, they should always be taken into account in the final decisions on the power plants’ locations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:34:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7e849eb5741b433e87b202c20fd54ca6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-1073 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T19:34:48Z |
| publishDate | 2020-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Energies |
| spelling | doaj.art-7e849eb5741b433e87b202c20fd54ca62023-11-20T01:48:41ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732020-05-011311268710.3390/en13112687To Whom Should We Grant a Power Plant? Economic Effects of Investment in Nuclear Energy in PolandKatarzyna Zawalińska0Jouko Kinnunen1Piotr Gradziuk2Dorota Celińska-Janowicz3Institute of Agricultural and Rural Development, Polish Academy of Sciences (IRWiR PAN), ul. Nowy Świat 72, 00-330 Warsaw, PolandStatistics and Research Åland (ÅSUB), Ålandsvägen 26, AX-22100 Mariehamn, Åland, FinlandInstitute of Agricultural and Rural Development, Polish Academy of Sciences (IRWiR PAN), ul. Nowy Świat 72, 00-330 Warsaw, PolandCentre for European Regional and Local Studies (EUROREG), University of Warsaw, ul. Krakowskie Przedmieście 30, 00-927 Warsaw, PolandPoland is the most coal-dependent economy and one of the biggest polluters in the EU. In order to alleviate this problem, meet CO<sub>2</sub> emission requirements set by EU, and improve the country’s energy security, Poland decided to introduce nuclear power to its energy mix. So far, several potential locations for nuclear power plants have been officially proposed, mainly based on technical parameters, but no comparisons of the economic impact of such locations have been considered. Consequently, the main goal of this paper is to compare the national and regional economic effects of investments in nuclear power plants—for both the construction and exploitation phases—in the four most probable locations, which are similarly beneficial from a technical point of view. In order to simulate these effects, the spatial recursive dynamic Computable General Equilibrium model was calibrated until 2050 including agglomeration effects and featuring the regional economies of all Polish regions. The results show that although the construction phase is beneficial for economic development in all four regions, the exploitation phase is good for only one. The economies of the other regions suffer, to a greater or lesser extent, from the Dutch disease. The paper argues that the regional economic effects of such an investment differ significantly, due to differences in the regions’ economic structures; hence, they should always be taken into account in the final decisions on the power plants’ locations.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/11/2687nuclear power stationlocationnational and regional economic effectsspatial Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) modellingagglomeration effectsenergy policy |
| spellingShingle | Katarzyna Zawalińska Jouko Kinnunen Piotr Gradziuk Dorota Celińska-Janowicz To Whom Should We Grant a Power Plant? Economic Effects of Investment in Nuclear Energy in Poland Energies nuclear power station location national and regional economic effects spatial Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) modelling agglomeration effects energy policy |
| title | To Whom Should We Grant a Power Plant? Economic Effects of Investment in Nuclear Energy in Poland |
| title_full | To Whom Should We Grant a Power Plant? Economic Effects of Investment in Nuclear Energy in Poland |
| title_fullStr | To Whom Should We Grant a Power Plant? Economic Effects of Investment in Nuclear Energy in Poland |
| title_full_unstemmed | To Whom Should We Grant a Power Plant? Economic Effects of Investment in Nuclear Energy in Poland |
| title_short | To Whom Should We Grant a Power Plant? Economic Effects of Investment in Nuclear Energy in Poland |
| title_sort | to whom should we grant a power plant economic effects of investment in nuclear energy in poland |
| topic | nuclear power station location national and regional economic effects spatial Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) modelling agglomeration effects energy policy |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/11/2687 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT katarzynazawalinska towhomshouldwegrantapowerplanteconomiceffectsofinvestmentinnuclearenergyinpoland AT joukokinnunen towhomshouldwegrantapowerplanteconomiceffectsofinvestmentinnuclearenergyinpoland AT piotrgradziuk towhomshouldwegrantapowerplanteconomiceffectsofinvestmentinnuclearenergyinpoland AT dorotacelinskajanowicz towhomshouldwegrantapowerplanteconomiceffectsofinvestmentinnuclearenergyinpoland |