"Solidarnosc" for Shale Gas in Pomorskie

Malgorzata Kawiter, Plenipotentiary of the Marshal of the Pomorskie Voivodeship for Shale Gas, said her region was where the famous leader of Poland's Solidarity movement came from, which seemed to jibe with her characterization of how the Pomorskie region was getting acquainted with shale gas.

Ms. Klawiter began by saying, "We need to see the challenge and the opportunity, we need dialogue and public acceptance."

Developing shale gas in Pomorskie, she said, was about "understanding challenges and realizing what can be done next."

She stated: "85% of my region is covered with concessions. We have up to now 18 wells, with eight companies.

"No one says they have troubles," continued Ms. Klawiter. "There are protests. They are interesting people - some people are against shale gas and are very active. They don't show opinion of whole region.

"Still, we need to engage with them. If you give them some specific responsibility they will cooperate with you more than being against," she suggested, adding, "They know what hydraulic fracturing is, but don't know the facts behind it."

"We don't produce much electricity," she noted, showing that generation in the region emanated from the region's southern part. The many red dots on her diagram of all the power plants in Poland showed the country's over 90% dependence on coal.

"We have had coal for over 200 years; coal is safe for us in terms of energy security. CO2 emissions are greater, but it's what we have," explained Ms. Klawiter.

She noted the country's objectives, and those of the EU and said that everyone wanted access to clean water and fresh air. "We need to search for cleaner energy sources - that's gas."

The Pomorskie region only produced 30% of the energy that it needed, according to her, importing the remainder. She said 50% of the region's inhabitants had access to the gas system.

At the "gmina" level of administration, Klawiter said they didn't know what they wanted yet, because they weren't in possession of the proper knowledge about shale gas.

"We need to share our problems and find common solutions," she suggested.

Up to now, she said there had been interregional cooperation, and working together with the government, including study visits and an informational campaign entitled "Together About Shales."

Explaining the campaign, she said, "We wanted to make more dialogue with groups and with companies, local government leaders and inhabitants."

Ms. Klawiter also spoke about an environmental study being done and what it would mean to have a shale gas development in the marine zones.

Related Reading: Pomoroze - Seeds of the Polish Shale Gas Counter Revolution