Melnik heating site prepares for a future without coal:in addition to gas, there will also be a waste-to-energy facility

CEZ, a. s., concluded a contract for the construction ofa waste-to-energy facility (WTE) in the Melnik power plant location withthe supplier selected in the procurement procedure according to thePublic Procurement Act, which was an association of shareholders fromthe Metrostav Group, the company Metrostav DIZ, s. r. o., and Subterra,a. s. The selected supplier will carry out the contract based on thetender conditions as a so-called _quot;turn-key_quot; supply in the form of an EPCproject. The value of the contract is 507.48 million euros.

The WTE facility_#180;s planned capacity for energyprocessing of residual mixed municipal waste after sorting is 320,000tons per year. This amount will replace 174,222 tons of brown coal. Forthe combined production of heat and electricity, the planned WTE Melnikfacility will use proven grate combustion technology, commonly used inWestern Europe, and advanced flue gas cleaning technology, theparameters of which are sufficient even for the expected futuretightening of BREF emission limits. Estimated production at WTE Melnikis 1,400 TJ of heat and 160 GWh of electricity. The construction of thefacility should begin in 2025, and the start of trial operation isexpected at the turn of 2027/2028.

The WTE Melnik project was discussed at the springmeeting of the Investment Committee of the European Investment Bank (IVEIB). According to the decision of the IV EIB, the project meets all theconditions for the provision of a subsidy. Therefore, after itsassessment, the IV EIB approved the expected subsidy amount up to amaximum value of approx. 6.1 billion CZK from the SFZP ModernizationFund. This is the provision of ex-post investment support, i.e. itsrepayment is conditioned by bringing the facility into operation.