Elektroprivreda Srbije has announced a tender for the preparation of investment and technical documentation for the co-combustion of alternative fuels in the Nikola Tesla and Kostolac B thermal power plants.
As stated in the technical specification of the tender, EPS is considering the possibility of using prepared waste as additional fuel for the production of electricity and heat in thermal power plants.
– In addition to the removal of waste in a way that is satisfactory from the point of view of environmental protection, co-incineration of waste would reduce the consumption of the basic fuel – lignite coal in the process of producing electricity and heat – the document states.
It is planned that this project, through the 1st phase, will process the co-combustion system as part of the combustion process on the boilers of blocks A3, A4 and A5 in the Nikola Tesla A Thermal Power Plant, and in the 2nd phase subsequently also on the boilers of the Kostolac B Thermal Power Plant.
The project needs to determine the appropriate share of waste in the total fuel for the existing types of mills and boilers on the mentioned blocks.
The investment and technical documentation will define the necessary equipment, determine the scope of investment necessary for the reconstruction of the blocks, obtain location conditions and get positive opinions from the Republic Audit Commission and the Ministry of Environmental Protection, all with the aim of examining the profitability and risks of applying this method in Serbian thermal power plants.
The risks, as stated, include the content of mercury in SRF (a type of alternative fuel obtained from waste), as well as the content of chlorine that contributes to the formation of corrosion, and it is necessary to assess the impact on the total emissions of EPS.
Also, it is added, it is necessary to define which permits and for which type of waste need to be obtained for temporary storage, as well as the permits that EPS should obtain as a waste treatment operator.
The tender expires on August 16.
EPS’s initiative to examine the possibility of coal combustion comes in the midst of the world energy crisis and just a few days after Prime Minister Ana Brnabić’s statement that “the coming winter will be difficult”, and that Serbia is negotiating about an additional amount of coal, because we have problems with mining our coal.
Let us remind you that in mid-June, the Government authorized EPS to import four million tons of coal by the end of 2023, in order to ensure the smooth operation of the Obrenovac thermal power plants, which cover half of the country’s electricity needs.
It should also be said that the announcement of using waste as fuel in thermal power plants in Serbia is not new – EPS officials were talking about it ten years ago. Vladimir Đorđević, former director of EPS and then executive director for renewable energy sources in this public company, said in an interview for Vreme that the Electric Power Company of Serbia is about to find a way to co-burn coal and municipal waste in thermal power plants, which often has a higher energy value than our lignite, writes eKapija.
