Coal is falling rapidly as a source of Polish electricity, but dependable coal capacity remains part of the reliability calculation through the transition.
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Poland’s coal transition is moving much faster than the country’s reputation suggests. Coal supplied 72.5% of Polish electricity in 2021. By 2025 it was down to 52.7%, while renewables reached 31.4%. Coal supplied less than half of generation in five separate months, and in June renewables generated more electricity than coal over a full month for the first time.
There is an important correction to the simple story that renewables are replacing coal one for one. Gas is growing too. In both 2024 and 2025 it recorded the largest increase in generation share, and in 2025 Poland produced 24.4 TWh from gas alongside 23.8 TWh from onshore wind and 20.3 TWh from solar. Poland is decarbonizing quickly, but the replacement mix is renewables plus gas rather than a perfectly clean substitution.
