Kostolac power station
{{#badges: CoalSwarm|Template:Navbar-Serbiacoal}}Kostolac power station comprises the 310-megawatt (MW) Kostolac A plant and the 700 MW Kostolac B plant in Branićevo, Serbia.
Contents
Location
The undated satellite photo below shows the power station, near the remains of the Roman town of Viminacium in Stari Kostolac.
Background on existing power station
Kostolac A consists of one 100 MW unit and one 210 MW unit, commissioned in 1967 and 1980, respectively. Kostolac B comprises two 350 MW units, B1 and B2, commissioned in 1987 and 1991.[1]
Coal source
An Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS0 subsidiary, OPM Kostolac, currently operates three open-pit mines -- the Drmno mine, the Cirikovac mine and the Klenovnik mine -- which supply the Kostolac A and B power plants.[2]
Plant upgrade
In February 2010 EPS and China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) signed a $US1.25 preliminary contract for the redevelopment of the Kostolac Power Plant and the construction of a new 350 MW unit, called block B3. Under the terms of the preliminary contract CMEC will contribute 85% of the cost of the refurbishment of the plant and the installation of sulphur controls. Xinhua News Agency also reported that the project would include expanding the capacity of the Drmno mine to 12 million tons of lignite per year and "the construction of the new block B3, by the turnkey system."[3]
In 2013 it was reported that construction on the new 350 MW unit at Kostolac would begin the following year, with an estimated completion date of 2019.[4]
In December 2014 it was reported China's Ex-Im Bank would finance the new 350 unit, plus expansion of the nearby Drmno coal mine, via a $608 million loan to be repaid over 20 years.[5] The loan will cover 85% of the planned construction costs, and the government of Serbia will cover the remaining 15%.[6] A month later the agreement was ratified by the Serbian parliament.[7]
In late June 2016, the Serbian Administrative Court ruled the approval of the plant's environmental impact statement by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection was illegitimate. According to the ruling, the decision did not contain justification of reasons for not taking the cross-border impact of the new plant on neighboring Romania into account. Serbia might also face a challenge over whether financial guarantees given to the China Export-Import Bank breach restrictions on subsidies.[8]
Although it was reported in Reuters in January 2017 that construction had begun on the project,[9] the new environmental impact assessment for the coal plant has yet to be completed, although a new conveyor system does seem to be being put in place.[10]
A new EIA report was published for consultation in February 2017. Public hearings are planned for March 2017.[11] The EIA was approved in September 2017.[12]
On November 23, 2017, the Serbian government announced for the third time that construction would begin on the unit, now planned for operation in 2020.[13] According to the NGO Bankwatch: "There have been no environmental and social impact assessments of expanding the Drmno mine that will feed the power plant, and the local community’s request to be relocated from the mine borders has not been taken into account. The project is also not in line with the latest pollution standards adopted this year by the EU."[14]
As of November 29, 2017, the plant's EIA is being challenged in court, and the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control permit has not been issued, although it may be issued after construction.[15]
In September 2018, the Centre for Ecology and Sustainable Development (CEKOR) and CEE Bankwatch Network submitted a formal complaint to the Energy Community Treaty Secretariat, saying the country had failed to require an environmental impact assessment for the expansion of the Drmno mine that would feed the plant.[16]
In April 2019 it was reported that construction was planned to begin soon on the new unit.[17]
Project Details of proposed power plant
- Sponsor: Elektroprivreda Srbije
- Parent company:
- Developer: China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC)
- Location: Kostolac, Branićevo, Serbia
- Coordinates: 44.72954, 21.212146 (exact)
- Status: Permitted
- Capacity: 350 MW
- Type:
- Start date:
- Coal Type: Lignite
- Coal Source: Drmno mine
- Source of financing: China Export-Import Bank - 85%, government of Serbia - 15%
Articles and Resources
Sources
- ↑ "Coal-Fired Plants in Serbia," Industcards, accessed April 2016
- ↑ Elektroprivreda Srbije, "About Us: Basic Data: Facilities for coal production, processing and transport OPM "Kostolac"", Elektroprivreda Srbije website, accessed July 2011.
- ↑ "China, Serbia sign preliminary contract on power station cooperation", Xinhua News Agency, February 4, 2010.
- ↑ "Serbia: construction of a new thermal power plant will begin in Kostolac," Balkans.com, Nov 22, 2013.
- ↑ "China to help Serbia build 350 MW coal-fired power plant-media," Reuters, Dec 14, 2014
- ↑ "Serbia signs funding deal with China's Ex-Im Bank on TPP project" Powermarket.seenews.com, December 17, 2014
- ↑ "Government adopts legal framework for project Kostolac B3," Tanjug news agency, January 12, 2015
- ↑ "Kostolac: Chinese loan, Serb rule-breaking," CINS, July 21, 2016
- ↑ "Balkan push for new coal-fired plants raises concern," Reuters, Jan 23, 2017
- ↑ Conversation with CAN Europe, Jan 24, 2017
- ↑ "Javna rasprava o izgradnji TE „Kostolac B3” početkom marta," Energetski Portal, Feb 13, 2017
- ↑ EIA Decision, Government of Serbia, Sep 28, 2017
- ↑ "Chinese company starts construction of Serbian coal-fired power plant," Reuters, Nov 20, 2017
- ↑ "Serbia pushes ahead with beleaguered coal plant at Kostolac," Bankwatch, 20 November 2017
- ↑ Personal communication with Bankwatch, Nov 29, 2017
- ↑ "Serbia is mining away a green future," Bankwatch, Sep 10, 2018
- ↑ "Serbia: TPP Kostolac unit B3 obtained its seventh construction permit," News Serbia Energy, 18. April 2019
