On 29 March, Elektrociepłownia Tychy from Tauron Group signed a contract with the Regional Fund of Environmental Protection and Water Management in Katowice on granting a loan of PLN 30 million for execution of a Project involving construction of biomass supply installation as well as modernisation of the fluidized bed. The investment will cost about PLN 120 million. The contract with a contractor to perform the modernisation was also signed.
The investment called „Reconstruction of the coal-fired circulating fluidized bed (CFB) OFz 135/K-7 in EC Tychy SA to biomass-fired bubbling fluidized bed (BFB)”, is the part of a programme on recovery of the generation capacity of the company. For performance of the task of the fluidized bed modernization, a company Metso Power Oy was selected in the public tender .
- Reconstruction of the generation capacity in Elektrociepłownia Tychy results from the necessity to adjust this source to the stricter emission standards, which will be binding from 2016, which in consequence will cause that the current generating units will not be able to operate. It is assumed that after the year 2015 only the existing fluidized bed will be able to operate after modernization, i.e. after reconstruction to meet the needs of biomass combustion, while maintaining the existing capacity, i.e. 40 MWe and 70 MWt – says Joanna Schmid, Vice-President of the management board of Tauron Polska Energia on strategy and development.
The investment will be carried out in two stages. At the first stage, the modernisation of the fluidized bed of BC-35 block will be performed allowing for combustion of 100 percent of biomass, as well as building in of the stoker-fired boiler WR40. Completion of the tasks was planned until the end of 2012. At the second stage, the construction of the block BC-50 will be performed, including the peak load boilers and the necessary infrastructure. The investment will be commissioned until the end of 2015.
In order to provide for modernization of the circulating fluidized bed – envisaged at the first stage of investment – the company undertook actions aimed at raising funds from the Regional Fund of Environmental Protection and Water Management in Katowice.
- On 25 January 2010, Elektrociepłownia Tychy submitted application for co-funding of the investment Project to the Regional Fund of Environmental Protection and Water Management in Katowice. On 28 February 2011, the Supervisory Board of the Fund approved the application and agreed to co-finance the Project based on a loan of PLN 30 million – informs Albert Kępka, President of the Management Board of Elektrociepłownia Tychy.
