Quo vadis power engineering? A slow transition from centralised power generation to distributed power generation and what about Poland?

Abstract

Is the world’s power engineering at a crossroads? Does the rapid development of new emerging fields such as the Internet of Things, smart city or e-mobility make us take a completely different point of view on the world’s energy future? What are our visions and development forecasts related to this? Who is right, Exxon Mobil Corporation or the visionary investor Elon Musk? The author of this article is trying to find answers to these and many other questions. In the long-term perspective, a transition from centralised power generation to distributed power generation seems to be inevitable, and that is the central message of this article. The article also presents the situation of the Polish power engineering against the background of global trends, as well as proposals for solving the smog problem using anti-smog technologies developed at the Institute of Fluid-Flow Machinery of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Gda´ nsk and by launching a pilot project that will cover 1,000 households equipped with these technologies. The author and his closest co-workers recommend equipping boilers, including both older and newer ones, with low-power electrostatic precipitators. In this way, one can burn low-quality fuels while keeping the emission of airborne dust at a low level. It is a quick and not pricey solution to the smog problem.