Professor Świrski’s satirical energy and technology corner (31.07.2025)

Today, at the height of the summer vacation, here is a brief overview of new developments with references to quotes that always prove that, as Emperor Augustus used to say, “festina lente” (hurry slowly) or “You have to be very patient. Everything must happen slowly.” (The Little Prince) – which should be our guiding principle for the coming weeks of vacation.

A new energy ministry, but perhaps not quite

The long-awaited government reshuffle has finally taken place. It is no longer possible to joke that energy competencies are divided between several ministries – a centralised Ministry of Energy has now been created. Work is currently underway to change signs, print new business cards, and move desks to other parts of the relevant buildings. A thorough analysis shows that energy is not a monolith, as renewable energy sources remain with the Ministry of Climate, while the Ministry of Assets handles the management of energy companies. So we are waiting for a new energy dawn after the reshuffle, perhaps reading Lampedusa’s “The Leopard” – “everything has changed so that everything can remain the same.”

Premature nervousness among environmentalists on the issue of nuclear power…

In recent days, there has been a heated discussion about both the cooling of nuclear power plants and the storage of waste. The problem is the storage site itself – the current one (Różan) was built in 1961 and is to be permanently closed in 2028-30 or even earlier. According to earlier government plans, construction of a new storage facility was to begin in 2028, which is unrealistic today. The Ministry of Industry, responding to press reports, replied, among other things, “The final schedule for the construction of the storage facility will be drawn up so that it is available as soon as fuel is ready to be placed in it,” adding that spent fuel can always be stored in pools at the power plant first (which is true and is the case, for example, in American power plants). Protesting environmentalists are advised to be patient, as the Ministry of Industry is being abolished anyway. The Ministry of Energy will take over the matter, and besides, you can always read “Gone with the Wind” and the famous phrase “I’ll think about it tomorrow.”

Unfortunately, electric cars don’t burn any better

The “EV Fire Safety Report” has been published – a summary of car fires, including the first half of 2025. Data from Poland shows approximately 4,700 fires in the first half of the year, 23 of which involved fully electric vehicles. The analysis gives the same fire rate per 1,000 cars (0.23 per 1,000 vehicles) regardless of whether they are electric, hybrid or combustion vehicles.

Unfortunately, as you can see, there is nothing for the haters of the energy transition and ardent supporters of diesel to complain about. So we are waiting for objective comments, but I think the hardliners will continue to be restless… as my friend’s mother said when she left the hospital after dozens of meticulous tests that showed no illness… “we must keep looking.”

A two-year-old boy bit a cobra. What will happen when he grows up?

India has seen a creative replay of the myths about Hercules (who strangled snakes in his cradle). Now, a two-year-old boy was attacked by a cobra, but in self-defence, he bit the snake. After being taken to the hospital, the boy was discharged as healthy, and the cobra was disposed of as dead. We are waiting for further developments and the completion of the 12 labours of Hercules in Indian conditions, appreciating the child’s development according to Maria Montessori’s guidelines: “Help me do it myself.”

KPEiK is ending coal faster… but we’re digging until 2049

Poland’s KPEiK (National Energy and Climate Plan) – although already late (two reminders from the European Commission) – has suddenly been made public and is now moving from one ministry (Climate, which generated it) to another (Energy, now responsible). We will see it officially in a moment, and there will be a request for public comments, which will undoubtedly be heated, among other things, due to the projected consumption of hard coal in the Polish energy sector. The new KPEiK assumes acceleration and complete elimination of coal by 2040. Although we will not be using it, we will continue to mine it until 2049, because mining is subject to a government restructuring agreement (incidentally, submitted for notification to the EU by the disappearing Ministry of Industry). As can be seen from this, it will also be necessary to build another storage facility for coal mined (and unburned) after 2040, or pack it back into the mines, because there is no point in counting on exports if the costs are two and a half times higher than the world price. But in the end… many writers have written about this (Miłosz – “Only the road is important, not the destination,” Bukowski). Still, one can also repeat Ursula Le Guin’s words: “It’s good to have a destination, but in the end, it’s the journey that matters.”