Technical analysis of the possibilities of reducing carbon dioxide emissions from the Bełchatów power plant

authors: Paweł Gładysz, PhD, Łukasz Bartela, Marcin Plis, PhD

Three scenarios for the reduction of CO² emissions of the Bełchatów Power Plant:

conversion of the existing lignite units at the Bełchatów Power Plant into hybrid units co-burning lignite, gas and biomass
a significant share of energy production from lignite remains
a risk of limited access to biomass (wood)
still high costs of CO2 emission allowances after expensive modernisation of power units
the technology does not enable a reduction of CO2 emissions to the level compliant with publicly supported power plants in the EU from 2025 onwards (below 550 kg CO2/MWh)
reduction of CO2 emissions*: 10 – 13 million tonnes of CO2/year

replacement of the existing lignite units at the Bełchatów Power Plant with new gas units
still high costs of CO2 emission allowances after modernisation of power units
a relatively high costs of purchasing gaseous fuel
reducing CO2 emissions instead of eliminating them
increasing imports of natural gas from abroad
reduction of CO2 emissions*: approx. 19 million tonnes of CO2/year

application of CO2 capture and storage technology in existing or new power units at the Bełchatów Power Plant
possibility of rapid and significant reduction of CO2 emissions (by about 90%)
high costs of implementation of this scenario
reduction of efficiency of power units
lack of commercialisation of this technology in the power industry (currently only two model installations are in operation)
a decrease of RES and energy storage costs may result in the abandonment of CO2 capture and storage technologies in the energy generation sector
lack of public acceptance for CO2 transport and storage
reduction of CO2 emissions*: 23.4 – 24 billion tonnes of CO2/year

*for the same level of electricity production