Poland’s ZE PAK Konin power plant to transition to biomass from coal

On 2 July 2019, the supervisory board of ZE PAK S.A. accepted a detailed concept for the implementation of the investment in the Konin Power Plant, involving the modernisation of the existing K7 coal boiler together with turbogenerators and, therefore, the creation of the second biomass-fired generating unit.

After the modernisation, the boiler will co-operate with a 50 MWe turbogenerator producing electricity on an everyday basis. In emergency situations, and during planned repairs, the new unit will supply a turbogenerator producing heat and electricity for the city of Konin.

The process, which the Konin Power Plant is undergoing, is similar to many others conducted in coal-fired power plants in Europe (e.g. Drax Power Station in Great Britain), which, due to the changes affecting the sector of electricity producers, had to change the type of fuel used. At the same time, it is the first such a case in Poland, where the current coal-fired power plant resigns from lignite for biomass.

The Konin Power Plant is the oldest power plant belonging to Zespół Elektrowni Pątnów-Adamów-Konin S.A. The official commissioning of the power plant took place in September 1958. It was the country’s first power plant fired with lignite supplied from nearby open pits. For several years, the power plant had produced electricity for the National Power System and heat for the city of Konin.

On 29 June 2012, the first biomass unit in ZE PAK S.A. was commissioned in the Konin Power Plant area. The power of the unit put into service is 50MWe. In March 2018, the biomass unit was adapted to heat production for the city of Konin. The biomass unit activation and its subsequent adaptation to the heat production was the first stage of the Konin Power Plant technological transformation from a conventional source towards a renewable energy source based on biomass combustion.