{"id":17676,"date":"2026-07-17T06:14:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T06:14:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=17676"},"modified":"2026-07-17T06:14:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T06:14:20","slug":"from-coal-pits-to-wind-turbines-polish-miners-rise-to-the-occasion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?p=17676","title":{"rendered":"From coal pits to wind turbines, Polish miners rise to the occasion"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 300px 160px; gap: 2px; width: 460px; background: #eee; padding: 2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u6574\u884c\u5bbd\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876674\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column: 1\/-1; width: 460px; height: 90px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876676\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u5de6\u4fa7\u7ad6\u6392 -->\r\n  <div style=\"height: 250px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876672\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  <div style=\"height: 500px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876680\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u6469\u5929\u697c\uff08\u548c\u5de6\u4fa7\u5b8c\u5168\u5bf9\u9f50\uff09 -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row: 3\/5; height: 750px; background: #ccc; display: grid; place-items: center;\">\r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e2\" data-zoneid=\"5876678\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n  \r\n  <script async type=\"application\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/a.magsrv.com\/ad-provider.js\"><\/script> \r\n <ins class=\"eas6a97888e6\" data-zoneid=\"5876682\"><\/ins> \r\n <script>(AdProvider = window.AdProvider || []).push({\"serve\": {}});<\/script>\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-right:0;padding-left:0\">\n<p>From the top of a wind turbine nearly 100 metres above the ground, Grzegorz Witek, a coal miner, gazes at the horizon.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a far cry from basin depths in Silesia \u2014 a historic coal mining region in southern Poland where he still extracts the ore.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Once Poland\u2019s black gold, the sector is now surviving only on life support as the country slowly transitions to cleaner energy sources.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Along with seven other miners, Witek took the hours-long journey to Gorzyca in western Poland to take part in a training programme run by EDF Power Solutions Poland, helping coal miners transition into the wind industry.<\/p>\n<p>Even at the lowest point of a wind turbine, Witek expresses his awe at \u201cthe feeling of freedom\u201d compared to the fourteen years he spent at the bottom of a mine.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDown there it\u2019s always dark, there\u2019s no outside world, no sun,\u201d he tells AFP.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith wind turbines, we\u2019re moving up to the next level,\u201d he adds.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Before climbing real pylons, participants completed three weeks of training at the Vulcan centre in Szczecin, a Baltic port city in the north-west of the country, learning maintenance and safety skills such as how to evacuate a tower.<\/p>\n<p>While it is a big transition for workers used to navigating the depths of coal basins, instructor Michal Rak says the miners have valuable advantages.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Already accustomed to extreme environments, they are quick to adapt to the wind farm\u2019s conditions. \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter working a kilometre underground, finding themselves hundreds of metres above the ground doesn\u2019t really faze them,\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Aware of the risks, they \u201cdon\u2019t take things lightly,\u201d he adds.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Wind is the future \u2013<\/p>\n<p>For 29-year-old Patryk Paja, who spent three years in the mines, wind is the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe mining sector is dying out in Poland and you have to change something in your life,\u201d he says, harnessed and ready to take the elevator to the top of a turbine.<\/p>\n<p>In the mine where he works, the tunnels run as deep as 1,300 metres below the surface.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re switching to green energy, coal is over,\u201d he adds.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Wind turbines are an increasingly common sight around the training area in Gorzyca and throughout the country, \u00a0where coal still accounts for over half of Poland\u2019s electricity production, the highest in the European Union.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>More than a valuable economic resource, the dark ore has become one of the pillars of Polish identity \u2014 with miners long wielding political influence.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>But Poland\u2019s energy model is running out of steam.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Mining companies are racking up losses despite government support \u2014 \u00a0which totalled 2.1 billion euros ($2.4 billion) in 2024.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Extracting a tonne of coal now costs nearly twice as much as importing it, and domestic production no longer fully covers the country\u2019s needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Coal\u2019s share in electricity production has also fallen \u2014 from around 90 percent in 2008 to nearly 50 percent today.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Sun and wind now produce more than 30 percent of electricity, and the government is counting on 50 percent as early as 2030 and up to 69 percent in 2040.<\/p>\n<p>Poland\u2019s first nuclear power plant is expected to go online in 2036.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Exponential growth \u2013<\/p>\n<p>This transformation goes hand in hand with a steady drop in mining jobs.<\/p>\n<p>The sector, which employed nearly 400,000 people at the end of the communist era, now has a total workforce numbering only 70,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the government is projecting the creation of around 300,000 jobs tied to the energy transition by 2030.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRecruitment needs in the wind sector will grow exponentially in the coming years,\u201d Alicja Chilinska-Zawadzka, president of EDF Power Solutions Poland, tells AFP.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For the past three years, the French group\u2019s subsidiary has been funding and organising retraining programs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Around fifty miners have already taken part, and all of them have received job offers.<\/p>\n<p>Interest in the program is also increasing with time.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDuring the first round, there were five miners for ten places. In the end, over the years, we\u2019ve had four times as many applicants as slots,\u201d says Mariusz Tomalik, spokesperson for the Mine Restructuring Company (SRK).<\/p>\n<p>With ten years in the mines behind him, 41-year-old Marek Mikolajczyk is glad he took the leap.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>After undergoing training, he has been working on wind turbines for a year and a half.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe work is more pleasant, lighter, and less dangerous,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s more, his new job offers a higher salary, a better atmosphere, and the possibility of travel.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s only one drawback: \u201clong separations from the family during assignments,\u201d he says from Kosovo, where he is helping install a wind farm.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Fellow miner Patryk Paja hopes to follow the same path soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI surely won\u2019t make it to retirement in the mine, so I might as well move into a sector with a future,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInstead of going down, we\u2019ll be going up,\u201d he adds.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- \u603b\u5bb9\u5668\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u5bbd908px Grid\u7d27\u51d1\u5e03\u5c40 -->\r\n<div style=\"display: grid; grid-template-columns: 728px 160px; gap:2px; width:908px; background:#eee; padding:2px;\">\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u901a\u680f\u9876\u90e8\uff1a\u6700\u5927\u6a2a\u5e45 908x258 \u8de8\u6574\u884c -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; height:258px; background:#ff6b6b; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114307\" data-width=\"908\" data-height=\"258\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114307});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u7b2c\u4e8c\u901a\u680f\uff1a728\u00d790 \u901a\u680f -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-column:1\/-1; height:90px; background:#4ecdc4; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114300\" data-width=\"728\" data-height=\"90\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114300});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u5de6\u4fa7\u4e3b\u680f\uff1a\u591a\u5e7f\u544a\u5806\u53e0 -->\r\n  <div style=\"display:grid; gap:2px;\">\r\n    <div style=\"height:60px; background:#45b7d1; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114308\" data-width=\"468\" data-height=\"60\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114308});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"height:250px; background:#ffe066; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114299\" data-width=\"300\" data-height=\"250\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114299});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"height:250px; background:#ff9ecd; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114305\" data-width=\"250\" data-height=\"250\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114305});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"height:139px; background:#c792ea; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114302\" data-width=\"133\" data-height=\"139\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114302});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n    <div style=\"height:125px; background:#91e7ac; display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n\t\r\n<!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114303\" data-width=\"125\" data-height=\"125\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114303});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n  <!-- \u53f3\u4fa7\u7ad6\u680f\uff1a160\u00d7600 \u6574\u5217\u9ad8\u5e7f\u544a -->\r\n  <div style=\"grid-row:3\/8; height:600px;  display:grid; place-items:center;\">\r\n    <!-- JuicyAds v3.0 -->\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async src=\"https:\/\/poweredby.jads.co\/js\/jads.js\"><\/script>\r\n<ins id=\"1114301\" data-width=\"160\" data-height=\"600\"><\/ins>\r\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\" data-cfasync=\"false\" async>(adsbyjuicy = window.adsbyjuicy || []).push({'adzone':1114301});<\/script>\r\n<!--JuicyAds END-->\r\n  <\/div>\r\n\r\n<\/div><br \/>\n<br \/> From coal pits to wind turbines, Polish miners rise to the occasion<br \/>\n<br \/>#coal #pits #wind #turbines #Polish #miners #rise #occasion<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From the top of a wind turbine nearly 100 metres above the ground, Grzegorz Witek,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[10564,9186,14376,14374,4475,135,14375,2691],"class_list":["post-17676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-coal","tag-miners","tag-occasion","tag-pits","tag-polish","tag-rise","tag-turbines","tag-wind"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4d9c36f314171710ad6fba32b69b3fa932d71fca.jpg",768,512,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4d9c36f314171710ad6fba32b69b3fa932d71fca-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4d9c36f314171710ad6fba32b69b3fa932d71fca-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4d9c36f314171710ad6fba32b69b3fa932d71fca.jpg",640,427,false],"large":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4d9c36f314171710ad6fba32b69b3fa932d71fca.jpg",640,427,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4d9c36f314171710ad6fba32b69b3fa932d71fca.jpg",768,512,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4d9c36f314171710ad6fba32b69b3fa932d71fca.jpg",768,512,false],"covernews-slider-full":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4d9c36f314171710ad6fba32b69b3fa932d71fca.jpg",768,512,false],"covernews-slider-center":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4d9c36f314171710ad6fba32b69b3fa932d71fca-768x500.jpg",768,500,true],"covernews-featured":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4d9c36f314171710ad6fba32b69b3fa932d71fca.jpg",768,512,false],"covernews-medium":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4d9c36f314171710ad6fba32b69b3fa932d71fca-540x340.jpg",540,340,true],"covernews-medium-square":["https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4d9c36f314171710ad6fba32b69b3fa932d71fca-400x250.jpg",400,250,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?author=1"},"category_info":"<a href=\"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/?cat=7\" rel=\"category\">Stories<\/a>","tag_info":"Stories","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/8657085.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}