On 25 October 2023, a ceremonial signing of an agreement for the creation of an energy cluster took place in the Town Hall of the City of Morąg. The agreement was signed by representatives of the Municipality of Morąg, Paged Morąg and Paged Energy. The initiative aims to realise investments in renewable energy sources (RES) in the area of Morąg and its surroundings, increase the energy security of the region, improve the state of the natural environment as well as increase the ecological awareness of the inhabitants and influence the development of the local economy.
The signing of the agreement is the result of cooperation between the Municipality of Morąg, Paged Morąg – a local company interested in investing in RES – and Paged Energy, which will act as coordinator of the energy cluster. Under this initiative, energy from renewable sources will be used locally, contributing to improving the environment and increasing the competitiveness of the local economy. The legal structure of the energy cluster imposes a framework in energy management, limiting its scope to the district level.
One of the key partners in building the new cluster is Paged Morąg, a plywood plant with a long history of operations in Morąg. Paged Energy is the main coordinator of the cluster. Its tasks include coordinating activities and work within the cluster, trading energy within the cluster, storing energy, acting as an intermediary in settlements between energy producers and consumers, representing the cluster’s interests externally and resolving potential disputes between cluster members. In addition, as part of its investment in RES, Paged Morąg will cooperate with Paged Energy in the construction of photovoltaic farms and other sources of renewable energy.
Piotr Michał Kosmęda, CEO of Paged Energy, emphasises the importance of energy clusters, which support local energy communities, improve environmental quality and increase the competitiveness of the local economy. Proximity to energy generation sites increases the resilience of local communities to energy supply risks. Kosmęda explains:
– Energy clusters are local energy communities in which both generation sources and consumers are located in one or more neighbouring municipalities. The task of the clusters is to take care of local energy security, providing access to ‘green’ energy for businesses, local government units and residents. As a result of using renewable energy sources, they improve the local environment and increase the competitiveness of the local economy.
Paweł Krzyształowicz, Member of the Management Board of Paged Energy, points out that the Paged Group is working intensively on the use of renewable energy in its plants, which is part of its corporate social responsibility strategy. Krzyształowicz adds:
– The Paged plywood plant has been operating in Morąg continuously since 1955 and is an important point on the map of the municipality, as an important employer for successive generations of the local community. In line with the Thumos Group’s ownership strategy, which includes Paged Energy and the Paged plywood and furniture companies, we place a strong emphasis on the use of electricity from renewable energy sources. We want the final products coming from our plants to be increasingly ‘green’ and environmentally friendly in the years to come. That is why we have started a project for a near-site photovoltaic power plant for the Paged plant in Morąg and we are working on contracting further gigawatts of renewable energy. We believe that the process of decarbonising production fits perfectly with our corporate social responsibility strategy. At the same time, our close and long-standing cooperation with the Morąg Municipality – which is confirmed, among other things, by the establishment of the Energy Cluster in Morąg – will allow us to supply other local consumers with renewable energy as well, which will help to influence the region’s energy security, improve the environment, as well as build social capital and environmental awareness among the Municipality’s residents.
Energy clusters bring many benefits to local entrepreneurs, such as: striving for energy self-sufficiency based on renewable sources, reducing business costs based on PPAs (Power Purchase Agreements) or decarbonisation of production, contributing to an improved environment.
The new initiative by the Municipality of Morąg and the Paged companies not only benefits the local community, but also supports the development of green technologies and contributes to the sustainable economic development of the region.
Media contact:
Magdalena Kicińska
Communications Manager at Paged Wood
magdalena.kicinska@paged.pl
+48 725 520 874
About Paged:
Founded over 90 years ago, Paged is now one of the five largest plywood manufacturers and the third largest producer of wooden chairs in the European Union. It employs over 2,000 people and has a total of seven production facilities in Poland and Estonia. It offers innovative solutions and products that are used in a wide range of industries such as interior design and furnishings, construction, transport and packaging in nearly eighty markets worldwide.
Since 2019, Paged has been developing and implementing technological and product innovations based on the unique competences of its own research and development centre, Paged LabTech. The companies owned by Paged: Paged Pisz, Paged Morąg, Paged Eesti, Paged Trade, Paged Meble, Paged LabTech, Paged Deutschland and BUK Ltd. are part of the Thumos Group, a private, industrial and investment consortium.
