Decarbonisation of district heating

PGE Group’s strategy assumes reaching climate neutrality. In the District Heating segment we continue our decarbonisation plan to phase out the use of coal in heat production by 2030 and replace it with low- and zero-emission sources.

District heating sector transition

PGE Group’s business strategy adopted in 2020 sets a low- and zero-emission objective for the district heating area.

The key actions taken by PGE that are conducive to the achievement of the set goals are primarily:

Investments in the area of new gas sources

Thermal waste treatment facilities

Use of renewable energy as a source of district heating

PGE Energia Ciepła, being the leader of the heat market in Poland, aims to be a transition leader in the heating sector. In view of the growing expectations of customers and society and the development of the market for system heat consumers in large cities. The company is implementing the tasks specified in the “PGE EC Decarbonization Plan until 2050”. It contains detailed actions planned to be undertaken by 2030 regarding conducting in-depth analyses in the scope of transition to low-emission generation in the heating segment. The document was created as an operationalization of the goals specified in the PGE Capital Group strategy in the area of ​​transformation of the generation portfolio towards a greater share in the production of low-emission units and renewable energy.

In view of the increasing expectations of customers, society and other stakeholders, as well as active support for the implementation of national as well as international climate policy goals, PGE Energia Ciepła is gradually replacing old coal-fired sources with new low-carbon sources fired by gas and oil which are characterized by lower emissions. Taking into account further decarbonization and relative limitations in the availability of natural gas, PGE also intends to maximize the potential of large-scale heat pumps, biomass, waste heat, municipal waste and electrode boilers. In the case of planned gas units, the possibility of adapting them to the use of future hydrogen is also taken into account. New generating units are characterized by greater flexibility of operation and reliability.

~ PLN 7,8 bn

will be allocated by the PGE Group in the 2024–2028 perspective for investments in the decarbonisation of heating and the withdrawal from coal-based generation

Investments completed in 2023

Ultimately, it is estimated that emissions associated with heat and power generation will be reduced by more than 40 per cent in terms of carbon dioxide emissions, by 85 per cent in terms of nitrogen oxides with an almost complete reduction in sulphur oxides.

Compared to the old boiler plant, the new gas-fired source significantly reduced emissions of sulphur oxides (by 98 per cent) and nitrogen (by 75 per cent) and carbon dioxide by approximately 50 per cent.

In October 2023. PGE Energia Ciepła commissioned a new gas-fired generation unit in Zgierz. The new gas-fired cogeneration unit with a capacity of 13.5 MWe and 15 MWt cooperating with a renewable source in the form of a solar thermal system, replaced the equipment that has so far produced electricity and heat from lignite coal. Thus, the residents of Zgierz will breathe cleaner air, as the new generation technology will reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by approximately 50 per cent, sulphur dioxide by 98 per cent and nitrogen oxides by 80 per cent.

Investments in 2024

In 2024, gas-fired back-up and peak load boiler plants at CHP plants will also be commissioned:

– in Gorzów Wielkopolski (with a total capacity of 94.5 MWt)

– in Rzeszów (of a total capacity of 186 MWt)

– in Lublin (of a total capacity of 182 MWt).

The investments in these cities, with a total value of more than PLN 205 million, leading ultimately to the replacement of coal technology with gas, will reduce emissions by:

In addition, a new gas-fired CHP plant at EC Czechnica in Siechnice will be commissioned in 2024

NEW CZECHNICA CHP PLANT

In June 2021, KOGENERACJA (a PGE Group company) signed a contract for the construction of a gas-fired combined heat and power plant in Siechnice (New EC Czechnica). The new EC Czechnica will have a thermal capacity of 315 MWt and an electrical capacity of 179 MWe and will replace coal-fired units. The unit is expected to be put into service at the beginning of 2024. The value of the contract signed for the investment in Siechnice is PLN 1.16 billion. The new CHP plant will replace the existing hard coal-based plant, enabling carbon dioxide emissions to be reduced by more than 40 per cent and sulphur oxides and nitrogen oxides to be reduced by more than 90 per cent.

Thermal capacity: 315 MWt
Electrical capacity: 179 MWe

Value of the contract signed for the investment: PLN 1 160 million

Reduction of emissions:
CO₂ by > 40%, SO_x and NO_x by > 90%

In the first quarter of 2023, the technological installation of the reserve-peak boiler plant was completed. In August 2023, four low-emission peak-reserve boilers were commissioned as part of the plant commissioning plan. The role of the peak-backup boilers (CRS) is to operate at the peak of heat demand when the operation of the base-operated gas/steam unit is insufficient. The CRS is also used as a reserve in case of possible failure of the primary production equipment. The back-up boiler plant was commissioned in November 2023 and the gas CHP plant was connected to the power distribution network in February 2024. In 2023, the total expenditure on the project amounted to PLN 538 million.

This investment of key importance for the Wrocław agglomeration has already received the following funding:

• A preferential loan of up to PLN 300 million from the Energy Plus priority program implemented by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW)
• A subsidy of PLN 50 million from the NFOŚiGW
• A grant of more than PLN 30 million provided under the Environment, Energy and Climate Change Program co-financed by the European Economic Area Financial Mechanism 2014-2021