Metso Cleans Up Polish CHP Plant with Biomass

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Poland relies on coal-fired power plants to generate its electricity more than any other country in Europe, but pressure from the European Union (E.U.) and stricter emissions targets means that energy companies like Elektrocieplownia Bialystok S.A. (EC Bialystok) are trying to clean up their acts.

The company has signed a contract with Finland's Metso (OTC:MXCYY) (Helsinki, Finland) to convert a coal-fired boiler to a biomass-fired bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) boiler for its combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Bialystok, Poland. The total value of the order is approximately €20 million ($28 million). The CHP plant has a generation capacity of 166 megawatts (MW) of electricity and 460 MW of thermal heat. The new 55-MW boiler will use biomass fuel comprised primarily of forest and agro-based residues and, according to Metso, will 'significantly' cut CO2 emissions.

Metso will carry out boiler modifications, pressure parts and a fuel yard expansion to enable a larger amount of biomass supply for fuel use. Metso will supply electrification and automation systems to control and monitor emissions. This is Metso's seventh biomass conversion order in Poland.

"Poland is one of the largest countries in Europe to have such a high dependence on energy deriving from coal use to meet national electricity needs," commented Andrzej Schroeder, president of EC Bialystok S.A. "This is an important incentive for us to reduce future CO2 emissions and produce more green electricity, and with Metso technology, which include boiler modifications and an automation system to control and monitor emissions, we are certain to accomplish our goal."

EC Bialystok's Krzysztof Sadowski, Strategy & Development Director, added: "We have been working on the project together with Metso since 2009, and we have together executed various successful agro-fuel tests for this investment."

Poland has a target of generating 20% of its energy from renewable sources by 2020 and reducing its emissions by 20%. Despite generous green-energy incentives, less than 8% of the country's power comes from renewables, with the vast majority of the remainder coming from coal-fired plants. In addition, 80% of the boilers in use at Poland's coal-fired plants are more than 20 years old and require urgent modernisation in order to bring them into line with E.U. emissions standards.

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