Thermal and mechanical energy storage as a chance for energy transformation in Poland

Abstract

The objective of the European Green Deal is to change Europe into the world's first climate- -neutral continent by 2050. Therefore, European countries are developing technological solutions to increase the production of energy from renewable sources of energy. In order to universally implement energy production from renewable energy sources, it is necessary to solve the problem of energy storage. The authors discussed the issue of energy storage and renewable energy sources, reviewing applied thermal and mechanical energy storage solutions. They referred to the energy sector in Poland which is based mainly on mining activities. The method that was used in this paper is a review of thermal and mechanical energy storage solutions. In industrial practice, various solutions on energy storage are developed around the world. The authors reviewed those solutions and described the ones which currently function in practice. Hence, the authors presented the good practices of energy storage technology. Additionally, the authors conducted an analysis of statistical data on the energy sector in Poland. The authors presented data on prime energy production in Poland in 2004-2019. They described how the data has changed over time. Subsequently, they presented and interpreted data on renewable energy sources in Poland. They also showed the situation of Poland compared to other European countries in the context of the share of renewables in the final gross energy consumption.