The Bełchatów Power Station is a

coal-fired power station A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a thermal power station which burns coal to generate electricity. Worldwide, there are about 8,500 coal-fired power stations totaling over 2,000 gigawatts Nameplate capacity, capacity. They ...

near

Bełchatów Bełchatów () is a city in central Poland with a population of 55,583 as of December 2021. It is located in Łódź Voivodeship, from Warsaw. The Elektrownia Bełchatów, located in Bełchatów, is the largest coal fueled power plant in Euro ...

, Poland. It is the largest

thermal power station A thermal power station is a type of power station in which heat energy is converted to electrical energy. In a steam-generating cycle heat is used to boil water in a large pressure vessel to produce high-pressure steam, which drives a stea ...

in Europe. The power station is owned and operated by PGE GiEK Oddział Elektrownia Bełchatów, a subsidiary of

Polska Grupa Energetyczna PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna S.A. (PGE SA or PGE Group, the name can be translated as ''Polish Energy Group'') is a state-owned public power company and the largest power producing company in Poland. PGE is listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and ...

. In 2011, a new 858 MW unit was commissioned increasing the total capacity of the power to 5,053 MW. The new unit has an efficiency rating of approximately 42%, contributed to reduction of both fuel consumption and emissions compared to the older units. The unit has been built by

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Avelia ...

. Alstom also has modernized the low pressure parts in all 12 turbines and, in 2009, PGE and Alstom signed a contract to modernise unit 6. After modernization of other units, the total

installed capacity Nameplate capacity, also known as the rated capacity, nominal capacity, installed capacity, or maximum effect, is the intended full-load sustained output of a facility such as a power station,

reached 5,420 MW in 2015. In 2017, the electrical capacity of Elektrownia Bełchatow was increased to 5,472 MW. The plant's current achievable capacity is 5,102 MW. In the second half of 2019, the achievable capacity was reduced due to the decommissioning of the oldest unit (unit No 1). The station's flue gas is vented through two tall chimneys, among Poland's tallest free-standing structures.

Lignite Lignite, often referred to as brown coal, is a soft, brown, combustible, sedimentary rock formed from naturally compressed peat. It has a carbon content around 25–35%, and is considered the lowest rank of coal due to its relatively low heat ...

(brown coal) for the plant is provided by a large neighboring strip mine Bełchatów coal mine. The building of the power station itself has a height of 118 metres, a length of 740 metres and a width of 117 metres.

Carbon dioxide emissions

Bełchatów is the fifth largest coal-fired power plant in the world. According to estimates, in 2018, it emitted 37.6 million tons of carbon dioxide, more than any other power station, with relative emissions estimated at 1.756 kg per kWh. The plant releases more carbon dioxide each year than the entirety of Switzerland. In order to reduce CO₂ emissions, PGE sought to introduce

carbon capture and storage Carbon capture and storage (CCS) or carbon capture and sequestration is the process of capturing carbon dioxide (CO2) before it enters the atmosphere, transporting it, and storing it (carbon sequestration) for centuries or millennia. Usually th ...

technology. In 2008, it signed a memorandum of understanding with Alstom, according to which Alstom would design and construct a pilot carbon capture plant at Unit 12 by mid-2011. A larger carbon capture plant was to be integrated with the new 858 MW unit by 2015. The project failed to receive a European Commission grant for €180 million from the European Energy Programme for Recovery, and was cancelled in 2013.

Future

In September 2020, the District Court in Łódź ordered settlement talks between PGE GiEK and ClientEarth regarding the reduction of the environmental and climate impact of the Bełchatów Power Plant. On October 19, 2020, PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna published the Group's new strategy for the decade running up to 2030 with an outlook to 2050. The company presented the Group's transition and decarbonisation plan and announced the goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. The PGE project "Just transformation of the Bełchatów complex" initially consists of photovoltaic farms, wind farms, and a thermal waste treatment installation with energy recovery; it would be the first stage in the process of regional transition towards carbon neutrality. In June 2021, local authorities published a plan for public consultation that would see the plant decommissioned by 2036, with support from the

Just Transition Just transition is a framework developed by the trade union movement to encompass a range of social interventions needed to secure workers' rights and livelihoods when economies are shifting to sustainable production, primarily combating climat ...

fund.

References

External links

Bełchatów Unit 1–6, ''skyscraperpage.com''.

Bełchatów Unit 7–12, ''skyscraperpage.com''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belchatow Power Station Coal-fired power stations in Poland Bełchatów County Buildings and structures in Łódź Voivodeship

Power Station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...

Energy in Poland

Carbon dioxide emissions

Future

See also

References

External links