WARSAW (Reuters) - GE Power GE.N and Alstom Power ALSO.PA have won a tender to build Poland's last coal-fired power plant with a bid of 6 billion zlotys ($1.75 billion), utilities Energa ENGP.WA and Enea ENAE.WA said.

The logo of Alstom is seen before a news conference to present the company's full year 2016/17 annual results in Saint-Ouen, near Paris, France, May 4, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes

The 1,000 megawatt power plant in Ostroleka in northeast Poland is expected to open in 2023 and power around 300,000 homes.

“GE Power will design, manufacture and deliver its market-leading ultra-supercritical technology components (boiler and steam turbine generator) for this new power plant,” GE Power said in a statement.

GE and Alstom won over competing bids from Polish construction firms Polimex-Mostostal and Rafako and China Power Engineering Consulting Group.

By 2050, Poland plans to reduce the share of coal in its energy mix to 50 percent from around 80 percent currently, while reducing pollution by switching to new technology such as that which will be used at Ostroleka.

“This plant will ...help Poland meet its energy needs while also meeting the latest EU standards in terms of air quality,” GE said.

Energy Minister Krzysztof Tchorzewski said last year that Ostroleka would be the last coal-burning plant to be built in Poland. [nL8N1LN222]

GE built a 858 megawatt lignite-fuelled power station in Belchatow for power company PGE PGE.WA and is building two 900 MW units at PGE's Opole power plant.

State-run Energa and Enea aim to take advantage of a back-up power capacity scheme approved by the EU in February. [nL8N1O62DB] [nL8N1PX3FM]

The scheme will allow them to be paid for electricity and for keeping power plants online to produce when needed.

($1 = 3.4263 zlotys)