belchatow-poland-supercritical-steam-coal-power-plant-editorial

LIGNITE POWER
Belchatow, pillar of Polish power – a utility perspective
Piotr Szmaj, chief engineer, new unit, BOT Elektrownia Belchatow
Even before the addition of the new 858 MWe supercritical unit (described in the
main article), Belchatow hosted the largest coal (lignite) fired plant in Europe –
with a current installed capacity of 4400 MWe (12 x 370 MWe) – and has been
called the capital of the Polish power generation industry. Following completion
of the modernisation programme started in 1997, which added 120 MWe to the
installed capacity (by modernisation of the turbine LP stages), the plant fulfils all
EU requirements and standards.
Indeed, BOT Elektrownia Belchatow was the first company in Poland to receive
a permit under the EU's Integrated Pollution Prevention Control (IPPC) scheme to
run its installations in line with the IPPC directive.
The power station being the lowest cost and the most efficient electricity
producer in the country is a pillar of the Polish power generation industry,
helping to stabilise the national energy market. Since the late 1990s, with an
annual electricity output of about 28 TWh, Belchatow has provided some 20% of
Poland's power, well ahead of any other power station.
The design of the original Belchatow units was developed in the 1970s and did
not anticipate any measures to limit emissions of sulphur oxides emissions because
at that time flue gas desulphurisation technologies were largely unknown and only
in the development phase. However, in the years 1988 to 1990, BOT Elektrownia
Belchatow turned its attention to developments in Polish desulphurisation
technologies as well as those being applied worldwide, and subsequently fitted
FGD to ten of the 12 Belchatow units (numbers 3 to 12).
To maintain a leading position in the Polish electricity market BOT Elektrownia
Belchatow has adopted a strategy for capacity development, which entails
comprehensive modernisation of Belchatow units 3 to 12, starting in 2007 – with the
aim of enabling them to reach 320 thousand hours of operation, ie to operate until
around 2035 – plus construction of the new unit, as described in the main article.
The strategy, which assumes maintenance of high power production
capabilities in association with optimal utilisation of available coal deposits
(about 1 billion tonnes of lignite) in the Belchatow and Szczercow open cast
mines, can be summarised as follows:
• Construction of the new 858 MW power unit, with commercial operation scheduled
for October 2010. This represents the largest investment of its kind yet in Poland.
In 2001, official acceptance from the Ministry of the Treasury was obtained to
commence a project to build a new 833 MW power unit. The capacity was
subsequently increased to 858 MW, thanks to improved plant integration by EPC
contractor Alstom. The tender procedure began in 2002 resulted in the selection
of the Alstom consortium. The design was approved in 2005 and a construction
permit issued. Construction work began in October 2006. The power plant will
use best available technology (BAT), as required under IPPC, and will also fulfil the
requirements of the EU Large Combustion Plant directive. First synchronisation
with the Polish national grid is anticipated in February 2010. The project includes
a new transmission link to the system switching station in Trebaczew.
• Reconstruction and modernisation programme. Refurbishment of units 1 and 2
(which do not have FGD) was done in 2004 and 2005, while modernisation of
units 3-12 will be done according to the following schedule: unit 3 in 2007, unit 4
Germany
Belchatow
in 2009, units 5 and 6 in 2010, units 7 and 8 in 2011, units 9 and 10 in 2012, and units 11 and 12 in 2013. The basic goals of the modernisation process
include: extension of the operating lifetime of units 1 and 2 (to 2016) and of units 3-12 (to 2030-2035); improvement of operating performance; reduction
in environmental impact, including compliance with EU Directive 2001/80/EC; and increase in turbine-generator unit power from 370 MW to 380 MW.
The total investment cost (new build plus refurbishment) is 1.6 billion euro, with banks providing 880 million euro. The project won the
Euromoney/Project Finance award for best European power deal of 2006.
The new unit and the refurbishment programme are in line with BOT Elektrownia Belchatow's policy of striving to continuously upgrade and improve
its power technology assets. The management system is also being continuously improved. The power plant holds a PCBC and IQNet certificate for an
Integrated Management System for Quality, Environment, Occupational Safety and Information Security (IMS-ISO), compliant with the requirements of
the PN-EN ISO 9001:2001, PN-N-18001:1999, PN-EN ISO 14001:1998 and PN-I-07799-2.
Lodz
Baltic Sea
Piotrkow
Trybunalski
Poland
Lodz
Warsaw
Slovakia
Lithuania
Belarus
Ukraine
Belchatow site, showing
the 12 existing units
Visualisation of the new 858 MWe unit at Belchatow, with
existing units, right
Poland's biggest
The Belchatow extension will be the largest
generating unit ever built in Poland and also the
most efficient lignite plant, expected to achieve
almost 42%.
Alstom is supplying the plant to utility BOT
Elektrownia Belchatow SA (which is owned by
the state power generation holding company
BOT Gornictwo i Energetyka) under a full
turnkey EPC (engineering, procurement,
construction and commissioning) contract. The
contract was signed in December 2004 and the
pre-engineering phase started immediately.
Financial close and the official launch of the
project (notice to proceed) was obtained in
October 2006. Commercial operation is
scheduled for the last quarter of 2010.
There are already twelve 370 MWe lignite fired
units at the Belchatow site, which started operation
in the early 1980s and run in baseload mode. There
was an urgent need to rehabilitate these units due
to their age, emissions and economics.
Ten of the units will be upgraded, over the period
2007 to 2013, while the oldest two will be shut
down permanently before 2016, with the new plant
more than making up the loss of power production.
The end result will be increased electricity
production in full compliance with European
environmental regulations, including the Large
Combustion Plant and Integrated Pollution
Prevention and Control Directives.
The total cost of the new plant plus the
refurbishment of the existing units is estimated
to be around 1.7 billion euros. The EBRD is
providing a loan of 125 million euros for the
new plant. Other investors include EIB, 220
million euro, Nordic Investment Bank, 150
million euro, and ING and Citibank, which are
providing various facilities totalling 604
million euro.
BOT Elektrownia Belchatow decided to build
the new 858 MWe unit as an extension of the
existing unit in order to secure continuous
deliveries of electricity to customers as well as
maintaining a constant level of lignite
consumption from the local open mine (a major
cost factor for the power plant).
Thanks to the project BOT Elektrownia
Belchatow will:
• secure its income by maintaining electricity
production;