Environmental & Social Review Summary
Project Number
5028
Company Name
Energy Center Kladno Generating s.r.o. (ECKG)
Date ESRS Disclosed
Feb 5, 2010
Country
Czechia
Region
Europe
Last Updated Date
Dec 31, 2016
Environmental Category
B - Limited
Status
Completed
Previous Events
Approved : Jul 18, 1996
Signed : May 15, 1997
Invested : Jun 11, 1997
Sector
Coal - Thermal Power Generation
Industry
Infrastructure
Department
Gbl Infrastructure & Natural Resources
Project Description
May 24, 1996
Environmental Review Summary (ERS)
Project Name Czech Republic-Energy Center Kladno (ECK)
Cogeneration Project
Region Europe
Sector Power
Project No. 005028
1. The project will expand, modernize, and convert the Energy Center Kladno (ECK) from primarily a district heating and industrial steam plant to primarily an electric generating plant. ECK’s new facility will be constructed near the site of the Main Heating Plant in ECK, one of three heating plants for the former Poldi steel works in Kladno, about 30 km west of Prague. The existing facility at ECK will be sold or leased to ECK Generating. One of the remaining plants was shut down in 1995, and the other will be required to be shut down by 1998. The planned configuration of equipment and equipment usage has been developed to fit the community’s seasonal needs for electricity, industrial steam, and district heating, and includes the following components:
· two new coal-fired fluidized bed boilers (K4 and K5) and two turbine generators with a combined capacity of 240 MW;
· a natural gas fired 70 mw combustion turbine with a heat recovery unit for steam production;
· one newer (1976) existing coal-fired boiler (K3) and its associated 28 MW turbine generator will be rehabilitated with new controls, burners, and improvements to pollution control equipment required to be implemented by Czech regulation by 1998. In addition, oil storage and start-up equipment currently used for boiler K3 will be replaced by natural gas equipment; and
· two older (1966) existing coal-fired boilers (K1 and K2) at the Main Heating Plant will be retained on cold standby for emergency use (without improvement). They are expected to receive little use and be eventually scrapped.
2. As a cogeneration plant producing both electricity and steam, thermal efficiency is expected to exceed 50 percent - a conventional power plant typically uses only 35 percent of the heat content of the fuel with the balance being lost as waste heat. In addition, the fluidized bed combustion boilers offer somewhat lower NOX and substantially lower SO2 emissions than conventional boilers.
3. New equipment will utilize a common 140 m stack. With the new equipment, maximum power production will be approximately 330 MW. All new construction will occur within the plant boundary and will use existing, upgraded infrastructure for support functions such as water supply and wastewater treatment, and coal and ash handling and storage. New Boilers K4 and K5 are expected to be base loaded at 7,200 hrs/yr. It is envisioned that Boiler K3 will operate 2,000 hrs/yr during periods of high demand for heat and steam, and the combustion turbine will operate around 600 hrs/yr during winter peak demand for electricity.
4. Coal for the project will be supplied under a long term coal supply contract from the current supplier, CMD, which operates mines 20 km from the plant. The coal is of appropriate quality for power plant use, and supplies are adequate for 15 years. In addition, other reserves in the Kladno area available. Gas supply for the combustion turbine will come from Central Bohemian Gas Company, which has been delivering gas to the ECK complex by pipeline for many years.
5. This is a category B project according to IFC''s environmental review procedure because specific impacts may result which can be avoided or mitigated by adhering to generally recognized performance standards, guidelines or design criteria. The review of this project consisted of appraising technical and environmental information submitted by the project sponsor, and the technical appraisal and site review completed by IFC’s Technical and Environment Department staff. The following potential environmental, health and safety impacts of the project were analyzed:
· air quality;
· public consultation and disclosure;
· potential site contamination; and
· transportation impacts; and workplace safety.
The information provided about how these potential impacts are addressed in the development of the proposed project is summarized in the paragraphs that follow.
6. Czech regulations require that stack emissions from existing boilers be in compliance by 1998. For Boiler K3, these are at least as stringent as World Bank guidelines except for particulate matter, for which the requirement is 100 mg/m3 compared to the guideline of 50 mg/m3. The existing facility can meet the Czech requirement through modification of existing equipment, but cannot meet the World Bank guideline without complete replacement of the electrostatic precipitator. The new fluidized bed boilers and combustion turbine will meet both Czech and World Bank stack emissions guidelines. Combined stack emissions rates for all pollutants for the rehabilitated facility will be well below combined rates in 1993. Annual stack emissions of particulate matter for the rehabilitated facility will be only 7% of 1993 levels, and NOX will be 61% of 1993 levels. Because of the higher usage, total annual SO2 emissions will increase about 25%.
7. Ambient air quality in the Kladno vicinity exhibits pollutant levels of an industrial area. Monitored levels (annual averages) in 1992 and 1993 with all Kladno heating plants in operation showed moderately high levels of particulate matter and SO2 and moderate levels of NOX. Average SO2 levels at one of six local monitoring stations exceeded both Czech requirements and World Bank guidelines. Air dispersion modeling performed for the project compared ground level concentrations calculated for major, minor and local sources in 1993 with sources anticipated to be present in 1998. Dispersion will be considerably enhanced by the taller (140m) stack used for the new units. There will be exceedances of Czech short term SO2 and NOX limits, but only a few hours per year under inversion conditions. Average annual SO2 concentrations are expected to slightly improve over 1993 conditions.
8. As required by Czech regulations, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was prepared for the project in June 1995. The EIA, which has been approved, was submitted to the Ministry of Environment, and the project was subject to a required public consultation and disclosure process which included local availability of the EIA and an open public hearing. The project was also subject to zoning approval requirements of Kladno city and county, and zoning documentation was submitted in October 1995. In that process, input on the zoning decision was solicited from cognizant agencies and from owners of abutting properties, and notice of the favorable zoning decision was publicly posted. The sponsor subsequently approached the Ministry of Environment regarding the need for reopening of the EIA process for the current plant configuration, and was informed that reopening of the process would not be required if impacts (specifically air quality) are not worsened by the changes. Supplemental air modeling has recently been completed which demonstrates that for the revised plant configuration and operating conditions, impacts on short term and long term ambient air quality will be reduced. This results from the reduction in usage of Boiler K3, the inherent low emissions from the combustion turbine, and improved dispersion from venting the combustion turbine through a common stack with the fluidized bed boilers. Results of the supplemental air modeling will be included in an amended zoning application for the project, which is in preparation. Notice of the zoning decision will be publicly posted.
9. Among other studies, the EIA included an environmental audit of the Main Heating Plant site. Prior to the construction of the Main Heating Plant in 1956, the property was private residential land. The audit scope included a review of past activities at the site during operation of the heating plant, and subsurface sampling of soil and groundwater. The subsurface investigation disclosed the presence of relatively impermeable soils that have restricted infiltration of pollutants into the subsurface. Some remediation of former facilities has been performed, and the audit concluded that no additional remediation is required prior to construction. Construction monitoring was recommended to disclose any localized contamination encountered during construction; this will be included as a provision in the construction contract. Other recommendations of the audit, such as improvements in ash handling and site drainage will be addressed in final project design.
10. Coal is currently transported about 15 km to the site by both truck and rail, and rail will be the primary mode of transportation after ECK expansion. About 142 rail cars of coal will be required per working day. An additional 4 cars per day of limestone will be required for the fluidized bed boilers. It is anticipated that ash from the fluidized bed boilers and fly ash from Boiler K3 will be returned by trucks. These requirements are well within the capabilities of the extensive rail network in the Kladno area. Trucks will be used (about 18-19 per day) to transport bottom ash from Boiler K3 to an existing disposal site about 55 km away. This is a continuation of an existing permitted practice and will not involve new or increased impacts.
11. Based on its review of available information regarding potential environmental impacts and proposed mitigation measures, IFC concludes that the proposed project is being designed to meet Government of the Czech Republic requirements, and World Bank policies, and environmental, health and safety guidelines.
12. IFC will monitor ongoing compliance with World Bank policies and guidelines during the life of the project by evaluating monitoring reports submitted annually to IFC by ECK Generating and by conducting periodic site reviews during project supervision.
Environmental and Social Mitigation Measures
Broad Community Support
Related SII
