German energy group RWE said Thursday that it would build a new generation coal power plant with a capacity of 800 megawatts in southern Poland.
RWE said the plant in the town of Wola would cost 1.5 billion euros (2.3 billion dollars) and would be "the most modern in Poland" thanks to technology that saves on coal and curbs the level of carbon dioxide pollution.
"Up to 30 percent less hard coal per kilowatt-hour will be required and annual carbon dioxide emissions will be reduced by 1.3 million tonnes" compared to older plants in Poland, the company said.
It is scheduled to come online in 2015.
RWE was criticised last year by the environmental group WWF International for running electricity plants that it ranked as some of the dirtiest in Europe.
In Germany, where the government plans to phase out nuclear energy by 2020, electricity companies are planning to build about 20 new coal-fired plants but some of the projects have run into opposition from local communities and their political representatives.
