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Kisielice PolandThe town of Kisielice in Poland is 100 percent powered by renewable energy sourced from wind and biomass. In recognition of its achievement, the town has just been awarded a European Commission ManagEnergy Award 2014 in the self-sufficiency category. The achievement is even more remarkable given that Poland as a whole derives around 90 percent of its energy from coal.1
Kisielice PolandSurrounded by expanses of open farming land, Kisielice now has two wind farms with a total of 48 turbines and an 82 MW capacity. A central heating network has also been built with the financial aid of grants and tax revenues. Fed by a biomass boiler with a 6 MW capacity and that runs on straw, it supplies heat to 85 percent of the town’s buildings. In summer, waste heat from the plant supplies hot water to the town. In December 2013, the town also built its first biogas power plant. This produces one MW of heat and one MW of electricity and is fed by locally grown corn silage.2
