10/17/2008

Plzeňská energetika’s New 100 MW of Power to Increase Efficiency and Improve Environmental Aspects

Plzeňská energetika has announced a tender for the delivery and installation of a new 100 MW turbine. The contract price should be between CZK 600 and 800 million. The turbine set, with 100 MW of installed capacity will replace the existing equipment. The new turbine is scheduled to be commissioned in the autumn of 2012. The existing equipment will begin to be disassembled in January 2011 and the installation of the new technology will start in the autumn of 2011.

The modernization of Plzeňská energetika’s (PE) generation equipment will increase heat and power generation efficiency and, thus, further improve the cogeneration unit’s environmental parameters. “The new turbine will significantly boost the efficiency of the entire cogeneration unit while reducing emissions and improving the air quality in Pilsen and the vicinity,” said Plzeňská energetika’s CEO, Václav Pašek. “Our investment in the new cogeneration equipment is consistent with our long-term capital project program, the overall cost of which will reach some CZK 2 billion,” Pašek explained. “By implementing this capital project program, our cogeneration unit will be considerably upgraded over the next five years. This will enable us to maintain even the highest operation standards,” he added.
The new turbine, with an average efficiency of 45%, will use brown coal as does the existing cogeneration equipment. It will generate standard power and, at the same time, provide system services to stabilize the power transmission grid. It will be operated as a cogeneration unit, i.e. in addition to power it will also deliver heat to our consumers. Cogeneration (combined power and heat generation) is an environmentally friendly method of power generation as it significantly reduces the volume of fuel burnt and, hence, carbon dioxide emissions.
As part of its long-term capital project program, early in 2008 Plzeňská energetika began to implement a new desulfurization unit worth CZK 430 million. The green investment in the flue gas desulfurization unit will reduce emissions by more than half and thus considerably improve the environment in the city of Pilsen and its vicinity. When the unit has been launched, carbon dioxide emissions will drop by some 60% and dust particle emissions by some 50%. The modern unit will replace the desulfurization unit operated by PE since 1996. The new desulfurization unit is planned to be commissioned in the second half of 2009.

Plzeňská energetika is a leading heat and power producer in the region of Western Bohemia, operating a source of power with a total heat output of 456 MWt and a total installed power output of 92 MWe. Plzeňská energetika delivers heat to some 30% of all the customers in Pilsen, in particular to industrial firms. Plzeňská energetika is owned by West Bohemia Energy Holding, a member of the consolidated business of the J&T group.

Ing. David Hoffmann
tel.: 378 132 580
mail: dhoffmann@pe.cz
web: http://www.pe.cz