Czech Počerady power plant seeks to extend mercury emissions exemption until April 2027

The operator of the brown coal-fired Počerady power plant in the Louny area is seeking to extend its current mercury emissions exemption until the end of April 2027. The exemption is due to expire for two boilers on June 30, for another at the end of the year, and for the remaining two on June 30, 2025. Environmental groups Greenpeace and Hnutí DUHA, along with the law firm Frank Bold, say that granting the exemption would be contrary to the law. Greenpeace spokesman Lukáš Hrábek said so in a press release today. The exemption application states that the power plant needs more time to implement measures to meet emissions limits.

Počerady power plant is part of Sev.en Česká energie, a group owned by financier Pavel Tykač. It was originally due to take over the plant this year from its former owner, ČEZ Group. According to Greenpeace, the companies agreed to transfer ownership at the end of 2020 specifically to allow time to prepare to meet emissions limits on schedule.

The first emissions exemption for Počerady was granted on the condition that the operator install filtration technology during the exemption period to meet the limits. „We already pointed out at the time that the decision granting the exemption did not include sufficient safeguards to genuinely prompt the operator to modify the power plant within the required timeframe. This has now become fully apparent – the operator did nothing during the exemption period and is now simply seeking a longer exemption,“ said Eliška Beranová, a lawyer with the Frank Bold expert group. „Such an approach is clearly contrary to the purpose of the Integrated Pollution Prevention Act,“ she added.

If the operator does not obtain an extension now, it will have to reduce emissions from two units to ensure compliance with the limits. The Regional Authority of the Ústí nad Labem Region will decide whether to extend the exemption, but parties to the proceedings may appeal its decision to the Ministry of the Environment. Greenpeace will therefore join the administrative proceedings concerning the exemption.

Emissions limits in force since 2021 require polluters not to emit more than seven micrograms of mercury per cubic metre of flue gas. Under the current exemption, Počerady power plant is allowed to emit 28 micrograms of mercury per cubic metre, although in 2021 and 2022 its actual emissions concentrations were 15 to 17 ug/m3. The new exemption would set a limit of between 22 and 26 ug/m3. „So if officials grant the exemption, it could even happen that the power plant emits more mercury in the future than it does now,“ Hrábek said, expressing concern. Annual absolute mercury emissions ranged from 338 to 339 kilograms, more than three times the maximum amount Počerady could emit if it complied with the limits.