Major energy transformation near Mělník, Czechia: demolitions, turbine production and construction of a new heating plant begin

Demolition and site preparation are continuing at the site of a future combined-cycle gas-fired power and heat plant near Mělník. Turbine production has also begun, with the units to be supplied by companies from Sweden and Germany. The low-emission plant will provide heat to part of Prague. It will have an electrical capacity of 266 megawatts (MW) and a heat output of 183 MW. The plant is scheduled to come online in 2029, ČEZ Group spokesperson Ladislav Kříž told the Czech News Agency (ČTK) in a press release today. Construction of the new plant is part of a major transformation of the area, where coal-fired heat production will end in the coming years.

Energotrans, a ČEZ Group company, signed a contract last May to build a combined-cycle gas-fired plant for nearly CZK 14 billion. The authorities issued the construction permit this August. “Mělník is undergoing its biggest energy transformation in decades. We are building the new plants while the existing heating complex remains fully operational,” said Pavel Šléška, director of ČEZ’s conventional energy division.

The new plant is expected to generate nearly 730 GWh of electricity a year and supply up to two petajoules (PJ) of heat. It will account for approximately 30 percent of total heat deliveries from the Mělník area. “While we prepare the construction site in Mělník, the main technological components are already being manufactured,” added Energotrans CEO Jiří Bukovič. The SGT-800 gas turbine is being built in Finspång, Sweden, while specialists in Görlitz, Germany, are manufacturing the SST-500 steam turbine.

A substation will also be added alongside the new plant and is expected to be completed next year. The gas distribution network on the site is already complete, and work continues on a five-kilometre connection for the entire area.

Energotrans operates the largest heating complex in the Czech Republic near Mělník. It supplies heat to the right-bank part of Prague and to the towns of Mělník and Neratovice. Construction of the first combined-cycle gas-fired plant is part of a wider overhaul of the complex costing more than CZK 50 billion.

At least one more combined-cycle gas-fired plant is expected to be added in the coming years, with roughly twice the capacity of the one now being built. The site will also have an electric boiler plant with hot-water storage, scheduled to begin operating in October next year. It will serve as a backup source, enabling surplus energy to be stored and supporting the power grid. A gas-fired boiler plant with a heat output of 135 MW is also in preparation. A photovoltaic power plant has been operating for two years, generating enough electricity annually to supply 2,000 households in the Central Bohemian Region. A waste incineration plant is also planned for the site and is expected to be completed by the end of 2028.

Demolition of decommissioned plants is also continuing at the Mělník site, including the dismantling of a 500 MW coal-fired unit that was shut down five years ago. The former largest coal-fired unit in the Czech Republic is expected to be completely gone next year.