PO Senator Kazimierz Kleina was already working on changes in the field of renewable energy and energy from wind farms in 2009. Now that parliament and the media have paid attention to the highly controversial ‘wind farm’ bill, it is becoming increasingly clear that the changes being implemented are not about ecology. The case shows the hallmarks of powerful lobbying, from which specific companies and specific politicians want to benefit.
The wind turbine scandal, in which many clues lead to PO’s Kazimierz Kleina, was extensively discussed by PolskieRadio24.pl.
In 2009, a former PO senator asked a minister in the PO-PSL government about the public purpose of renewable energy. In response, he heard from ministerial officials that environmental protection is not the basis for considering such investments as a public purpose, and this prevents expropriation. Kleina was an advocate of renewable energy in subsequent years
– reminds PolskieRadio24.pl.
Conferences and laws
Kleina was at the Offshore Wind Poland 2023 Conference, which took place in November this year. – informs the website PolskieRadio24.pl. Poland 2050 MP Paulina Hennig-Kloska was also scheduled to appear at the same conference.
In the case of Offshore Wind Poland, Hennig-Kloska talked to Wojciech Wybranowski, former editor-in-chief of Głos Wielkopolski. The brief altercation caused much controversy. Hennig-Kloska will not appear at the conference, but was included in the program. Today we already know that the potential speaker of the conference at which representatives of companies representing wind farm producers meet, among others: author of amendments intended to locate wind turbines at a distance of less than 300 meters from buildings.
Rafał Trzaskowski and Sławomir Nitras took part in the Offshore Wind Poland conference.
Łeba is a paradise for… companies?
Senator Kleina invited members of the Senate Committee on Budget and Public Finances, of which he is chairman, to a “study visit” to Łeba as early as 2022. There, politicians met local governments and investors in the field of offshore wind energy.
In June 2023, the “Bałtyk Offshore Wind Farm Information Center” became operational in Łeba. The creation of the Center was possible thanks to the involvement of Equinor and Polenergia, in which MansaInvestments – Dominika Kulczyk’s fund controlled by Kulczyk Investments – has the dominant shares.
Łeba is a paradise for… companies?
Senator Kleina invited members of the Senate Committee on Budget and Public Finances, of which he is chairman, to a “study visit” to Łeba as early as 2022. There, politicians met local governments and investors in the field of offshore wind energy.
In June 2023, the “Bałtyk Offshore Wind Farm Information Center” became operational in Łeba. The creation of the Center was possible thanks to the involvement of Equinor and Polenergia, in which the dominant shares are held by Mansa Investments, Dominika Kulczyk’s fund controlled by Kulczyk Investments.
READ MORE: https://www.cire.pl/artykuly/serwis-informacyjny-cire-24/w-lebie-ruszylo-piersze-w-polsce-centrum-informacji-o-morskich-farmach-wiatrowych
Also in June, Equinor signed a cooperation agreement with the Łeba Sailing Club in the field of training young windsurfers. Kazimierz Kleina was of course present at the ceremonial signing of the contract.
Funds from Equinor provide even greater wind in the sails for young and older members of the Łeba Sailing Club. They will help them achieve further successes
– said the PO senator then.
Equinor denies that Kazimierz Kleina is in any way involved in the company’s investments in Łeba. – Kazimierz Kleina, Senator of the Republic of Poland, was not involved in any arrangement between Equinor in Poland and the Łeba Sailing Club, or in any other investments carried out by Equinor in the region – says Agnieszka Dietrich on behalf of the company.
Setting up a partnership with the Łeba Sailing Club is an initiative of Equinor. We are building a service base in Łeba, which will act as a logistics center for the maintenance of offshore wind farms in the Polish part of the Baltic Sea. Together with Polenergia we are building three farms on the Polish Sea with a total capacity of 3 GW. The collaboration with the Łeba Sailing Club fits perfectly into the “Heroes of Tomorrow” program, which was started in Norway more than 30 years ago. It is aimed at young people who want to develop and change the world – whether in the fields of science, culture or sports – he adds.
Polenergia offers similar information. – Senator Kazimierz Kleina was one of the guests at the opening of the Information Center on Offshore Wind Farms in Łeba. Local government officials and parliamentarians from the region were invited to the ceremony. The information center on offshore wind farms in Łeba is the first facility of this type in Poland, writes Grzegorz Łaguna, the company’s spokesperson.
Kleina doesn’t forget “her own”?
As noted by PolskieRadio24, in 2009 a PO senator asked about the public purpose of renewable energy. In response, he heard from ministerial officials that environmental protection is not the basis for considering such investments as a public purpose, and this prevents expropriation.
I cannot remember what prompted me to make such a statement in the Senate. Fourteen years have passed, Kleina says. – There is nothing in this study about possible expropriation, in fact, I could just as well have asked the ministry about concerns about the possible introduction of a public purpose – Kleina explains on the website.
Interest in wind farms is often reflected in Kazimierz Kleina’s political activities. He also asked about offshore wind energy in 2011, and Kleina himself said he was “related” to this sector at a joint meeting of the Environment Committee, the Budget and Public Finance Committee, the Extraordinary Committee on Climate, the Infrastructure Committee and the National Economy and Innovation, in 2022. At that time, he focused on obtaining assurances from representatives of relevant ministries that the national infrastructure was ready for the development of offshore wind farms.
Where does KPO’s money go?
There is increasing talk about the controversial ‘wind farm law’. Emotions are stirred by the information that almost the entire amount allegedly ‘released’ by the EU will return to Germany and be used to save the Siemens brand, which… It produces wind turbines and is one of the suppliers of wind energy turbines. agricultural projects jointly implemented by Polenergia and Equinor.
There are too many coincidences here. We asked the interested parties about the connections between Senator Kleina, MP Hennig-Kloska, the local government of Łeba and the renewable energy industry magnates. By the time the text was published, we had only received responses from Equinor and Polenergia.
Source: wPolityce