Poland's Largest Coal-fired Plant Underway

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) - State-owned Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) (PW:PGE) (Warsaw, Poland) has awarded contracts for two new 900-megawatt (MW) units as part of its troubled expansion project for the Opole coal-fired plant in south-west Poland.

French engineering firm, Alstom S.A. (ENX:ALO) (Paris, France) has struck a deal worth €1.25 billion ($1.69 billion) with project partners Rafako (Racibórz, Poland), Polimex-Mostostal SA (WAR:PXM) (Warsaw, Poland) and Mostostal Warszawa (Warsaw, Poland) to add Units 5 and 6 to the coal-fired plant. The new ultra-supercritical (USC) additions will make Opole the largest coal-fired plant in the country, which already relies on coal for more than 90% of its electricity. When commissioned, Opole's total generating capacity will be enough to power almost two million homes. Unit 5 is due to enter commercial operation in 2018 and unit 6 in 2019.

The Opole II project was cancelled last April, with PGE stating that falling electricity prices and weak demand would have made it too risky for its shareholders. However, last summer the government put pressure on PGE to revive the €2.7 billion ($3.5 billion) project. For additional information, see June 26, 2013, article - Pressure On to Revive Polish Power Project.

Alstom first got involved with the project last November, having previously retrofitted Units 2, 3 and 4 at Opole to boost their efficiency. For additional information, see November 11, 2013, article - Alstom Joins Troubled Polish Power Project.

Leslaw Kuzaj, Country President Alstom Poland said: "Localisation is key to Alstom's growth strategy in Poland. With this project we will be further strengthening our contribution to the Polish economy with the production of the most advanced parts for this project in Elbląg and Wrocław or with the attribution of their manufacturing to Polish suppliers ".

PGE added: "The new units 5 and 6 are to be commissioned in the third quarter of 2018 and the first quarter of 2019 respectively. The application of the state-of-the-art hard coal combustion technologies will allow the company to operate power generation units characterised by the highest available electricity generation efficiency (the net efficiency will be at least 45.5%) and simultaneously it will produce 20% lower CO2 emissions compared to other power plants currently operated in Poland".

Alstom's will supply its proprietary USC technology including the supply of USC boiler islands, the steam turbine generator islands including the turbine hall equipment, the air quality control systems as well as some Balance of Plant systems. Alstom will be in charge for the overall project management and general design. Alstom said that the use of USC technology will help PGE lower its environmental impact and meet its regulatory requirements by boosting electricity output while burning less coal.

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