Electricity and thermal energy will be generated in the Trzebinia CHP Plant, owned by ORLEN Południe, from clean natural gas that is partially to replace coal. This is the result of an investment worth nearly PLN 80 million. Owing to the reduction of compounds from exhaust gases being emitted into the atmosphere, it will favourably affect the natural environment.
The implementation of the investment in new heat source will enable the electricity and thermal energy to be produced in the process of high-efficiency cogeneration not only from coal, but also from environmentally friendly natural gas. In this way, the emission of sulphur dioxide will be reduced by as much as approx. 30%, of nitrogen dioxide by 45% and dust by nearly 90%.
“We consistently invest in modern technologies and implement eco-solutions in order to minimize the impact our operations have on the natural environment. The Trzebinia CHP Plant modernization project fits in well with the strategic assumptions of the ORLEN Group in the scope of low-emission energetic,” says Jarosław Wróbel, President of ORLEN Południe Management Board.
As part of the investment, among other things a gas boiler room, water treatment station, gas preparation station as well as high and low pressure gas pipelines have been built. A company belonging to the ORLEN Projekt group acted as the general contractor of the investment. Owing to the modernization of the CHP plant, whose total capacity now equals 61 MW, ORLEN Południe has a multi-fuel energy generation source at its disposal. This will optimize the production costs related to changes in fuel prices.
Energy generated in the CHP plant will be delivered to all production units located in the Trzebinia plant, but also – through an internal central heating network – to companies located on the plant premises as well as to the only heat distributor in town and private recipients.
The construction of the new heat source is yet another environmentally friendly investment of ORLEN Południe. In May, an agreement was signed for the construction of a unit that is to produce organic propylene glycol in Trzebinia. It is the first unit of this kind in Poland and only second one in Europe. It is a step towards transforming the plant into a modern biorefinery. In the Jedlicze refinery, on the other hand, analyses regarding the construction of a 2nd generation bioethanol production unit are pending.