Maritsa Iztok-2 Power Station

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{{#badges:CoalSwarm|Navbar-Bulgariaandcoal}}Maritsa Iztok Complex (Iztok means East in Bulgarian; Maritsa is also spelled Maritza in some sources.) is the largest energy complex in South Eastern Europe. It consist of the Maritsa Iztok-1 power station, Maritsa Iztok-2 power station, and Maritsa Iztok-3 power station in Bulgaria.

Location

The undated satellite photo below shows Maritsa Iztok-2 in Stara Zagora Province.

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Background on Maritsa Iztok Complex

The power complex is located in Stara Zagora Province, south-central Bulgaria. It consists of three lignite-fired thermal power stations. It is located in a large lignite coal basin, which includes several mines, enrichment plants, a briquette plant and its own railway system.

The development of the thermal power and mining complex at Maritsa Iztok began in 1952, but the lignite deposits used to be known well in the mid 19 century. The Maritsa Iztok mines and power plants are interdependent as the only market for coal is the power plants, while the power plants have no other supplier of coal but the mines.[1]

Maritsa Iztok-2

Maritsa Iztok-2 is the largest thermal power plant in the Balkans.[2] It is located 60 km from Stara Zagora in the vicinity of the village of Radetski and the dam lake Ovcharitsa. The construction of Maritsa Iztok-2 started on 7 May 1962; it was inaugurated on 10 November 1966. Between 1979 and 1995 the power station was expanded by four additional units. Maritsa Iztok-2 has a total installed capacity of 1,602 MW and generates 30% of Bulgaria's electricity. It consists of eight generating units, two of which are equipped with flue gas desulphurization plants. The rehabilitation of the older power units, including construction of FGD plants for units 1 to 6, were in progress in 2008.[3]

Maritsa Iztok-2 is wholly state-owned. It is a subsidiary of Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH).[4][5]

Maritsa Iztok-2 Units 1-6 rehabilitation project

In 2004, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) provided 85% of the funding for a €306.5 million project to rehabilitate Units 1-4. The remainder was financed by Bulbank. The project included replacing old turbines and generators with new ones and adding fluidized gas desulfurization (FGD) systems. In addition, funds were provided to refurbish the turbines for Units 5 and 6. The lead contractor was Japan’s Mitsui Power Projects, which won a €226mn contract for the work in April 2003. The lead subcontractors were Japan’s Toshiba and IHI.[6]

The overhauls for Units 1 and 2 were completed in 2007.[6]

Another project involved adding FGD systems for Units 5&6. This was expected to cost €80.3 million, with 46% provided by an EU Structural Policies for Pre-accession (ISPA) grant, 42% from a syndicated loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) agreed in November 2004, and the rest from equity.[6]

The Unit-3 overhaul and the FGD retrofit were completed in October 2008.[6]

According to an auditor's report, Unit 1 went into operation after rehabilitation in September 2007 at 177 MW; Unit 2 went into operation after rehabilitation in May 2007 at 165 MW; Unit 3 went into operation at 177 MW in November 2008; and Unit 4 went into operation at 177 MW at the beginning of 2009. In 2010, Unit 6 went into operation after rehabilitation at 232 MW; at the beginning of 2011, Unit 8 did the same.[7][8]

Maritsa Iztok-2 Units 9 and 10

In November 2012, Bulgarian Energy Holding announced that it was making plans to two new units at the Maritsa Iztok-2 station, and seeking a strategic investor, with whom costs and revenues would be split on a percentage ownership basis. Each new unit would be 280 MW.[9]

In February 2015 it was reported that the state-owned Electricity System Operator believed Maritsa-Iztok 2 would not need an expansion by units 9 and 10 over the next 10 years. The forecast was part of a draft plan for the development of the country's electricity network in the period 2015-2024.[10]

As of May 2017 there is no longer any official mention of plans for the units, which appear cancelled.

Project Details for units 9 and 10

  • Sponsor: BEH
  • Parent company:
  • Developer:
  • Location: Galabovo, Bulgaria
  • Coordinates: 42.255, 26.135 (exact)
  • Status: Cancelled
  • Capacity:
    • Unit 9: 280 MW
    • Unit 10: 280 MW
  • Type:
  • Start date:
  • Coal Type: Lignite
  • Coal Source:
  • Source of financing: JBIC

Resources and articles

References

  1. ↑ Velinova, Sia (2007-06-08). "Bulgaria Maritsa Iztok Picks Favourite", SeeNews. Retrieved on 2008-03-16. 
  2. ↑ "Maritsa Iztok 2 financing secured", The Sofia Echo (2004-07-15). Retrieved on 2008-03-16. 
  3. ↑ "Clash on Maritsa Iztok 2" (2005-04-10). Retrieved on 2008-03-16. 
  4. ↑ "Bulgaria Consolidates Five Energy Companies into Holding" (2008-02-13). Retrieved on 2008-02-24. 
  5. ↑ "Bulgaria announces birth of energy giant with new holding company", Power Engineering, PennWell Corporation (2008-02-14). Retrieved on 2008-02-24. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "UDI Electric Power SourceBook, Eighth Edition, Bulgaria Country Profile," Platts, 2014
  7. ↑ "Annual Consolidated Activity Report, TPP Maritza East EAD," GrantThorton, 31 December 2013
  8. ↑ "REHABILITATION OF UNITS FROM 1 TO 6 AT MARITSA EAST 2 TPP," Risk Engineering, accessed April 2015
  9. ↑ "Bulgaria's Maritsa Iztok 2 Thermal Power Plant to Get 2 New Units," Sofia News Agency November 16, 2012
  10. ↑ "Bulgaria Will Not Launch New N-Plant Units until 2024," Novinite, February 6, 2015

External Articles

Related SourceWatch Articles

Wikipedia also has an article on Maritsa Iztok-2 Power Station. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the GFDL.

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