According to our strategy, for PGE Group to retain its top position in production means we must secure a 40% share of the electricity generation market in Poland by 2020. To remain the leader in generation over the long term, PGE Group has three strategic options allowing us to make an optimal choice in the context of future climate policy:

• construction of Poland's first nuclear power plant, once a model guaranteeing the investment's economic effectiveness is established,
• construction of approx. 1 000 MW of offshore wind farms, based on an auction support system,
• modern coal energy, including the use of new lignite deposits, if the climate policy is substantially watered down.

The project to build Poland's first nuclear power plant is run by PGE EJ sp. z o.o., where PGE S.A. has a 70% stake (with 10% stakes held by TAURON Polska Energia S.A., ENEA S.A. and KGHM Polska Miedź S.A.). Currently the project is at its growth stage (preliminary phase). Site characterisation work and environmental studies are currently being conducted in preparations to build Poland's first nuclear power plant. These works are on-going at two locations: Lubiatowo-Kopalino and Żarnowiec within the Choczewo, Krokowa and Gniewino municipalities in the Pomorskie voivodship. These studies are focusing on activities that are necessary to prepare an environmental impact assessment and a site characterisation report. These works are expected to finish in the first half of 2020. The purpose of the environmental studies is to specify the undertaking's impact on the environmental at the preparatory stage, construction stage, exploitation stage and plant liquidation stage. The purpose of the site characterisation research is to obtain data to evaluated terrain in terms of usefulness for the power plant, including the verification of factors making it impossible to consider that terrain meets nuclear safety requirements (major fault). Work results will be necessary to develop solutions that ensure the safe operations of the plant and reduce to a minimum its impact on the lives of local residents and the natural environment.

Decisions regarding continuation and further means of implementing the programme to build the first Polish nuclear power plant will be made in agreement with the Ministry of Energy. These decisions should be made by the end of 2017.

As for the offshore wind farm project, preparatory works are currently being conducted. The following companies are participating in this project: Elektrownia Wiatrowa Baltica 2 and Elektrownia Wiatrowa Baltica 3. These are subsidiaries of PGE Energia Odnawialna S.A. In previous years, we obtained permits to create artificial islands, which are necessary to set up wind farms, and signed contracts for connections to the power network with Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne S.A. (national transmission system operator). In 2016, we started sea bed research in potential offshore wind farm locations and in 2017 we held meetings with fishing communities - a group of stakeholders whose opinion we are taking very seriously in this project. This year, we plan to submit an application for a decision on the investment's environmental conditions.

The third strategic option is development of modern coal-based energy generation, based on new lignite deposits. The lignite deposits currently mined by PGE in Bełchatów and Turów will be depleted by 2040-2045 therefore we are undertaking research in order to identify domestic deposits that could be used in the future. In order to ensure continuity and secure PGE Group's value based on modern and effective lignite-based production capacities, work is under-way to obtain a concession for lignite mining at the Złoczew and Gubin deposits. Total industrial resources at both of these deposits are estimated at 1.4 billion tonnes, which would secure fuel for 30-45 years of power plant operations.

Project Złoczew

In 2016, this project mainly involved a procedure to obtain a decision on environmental conditions for the investment and changes in planning documents for municipalities located within the planned investment's area. This work is currently being continued. Once the environmental decision is obtained and municipal planning documents are adapted, it will be possible to submit an application for a concession to mine lignite at the Złoczew deposit.

Project Gubin

Similar to Złoczew, work is under-way in project Gubin intended to obtain an environmental decision and adopt changes in municipal planning documents.

An administrative proceeding to obtain the decision on environmental conditions is suspended at the investor's request until a harmonised report is submitted. Due to administrative reasons, the deadline for submitting this document and re-instigating the suspended proceeding is set at August 2, 2019. The reason for this is the necessity to carry out wide-scale supplements to the environmental impact assessment report, which directly translated into a change in the project schedule. Currently, work is on-going on drafting a harmonised environmental impact assessment.

By the end of 2017, the Lublin voivodship's spatial management plan is expected to be adopted, in which the construction of an open-pit mine near Gubin will be entered as a public-interest investment. Next, the use of a replacement ordinance of the voivodship marshal is expected, pursuant to which it will be possible to introduce changes in the planning documents of municipalities Gubin and Brody.

Once the environmental decision is obtained and municipal planning documents are adapted, it will be possible to submit an application for a concession to mine lignite at the Gubin deposit.