Bosnian power utility EPBiH said that it has signed an agreement with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on obtaining a 50 million euros loan to finance the coal-to-biomass conversion project of unit 3 at its coal-fired thermal power plant Tuzla.
The statement from the company said that the conversion projects envisages for unit 3 to use wooden biomass for electricity production instead of coal. The 100 MW unit is expected to stop production electricity from coal by the end of 2023. Unit 3 is also the main source of thermal energy for the district heating system in Tuzla and Lukavac.
Environmental organizations have already protested against the project, claiming that EPBiH will not use wooden biomass, but refuse derived fuel (RDF) imported from Europe. EPBiH refuted these claims.
TPP Tuzla has four operational units with combined installed capacity of 715 MW. The average annual electricity generation is 3,100 GWh, with average annual coal consumption of 3.3 million tons.
