Ško-Energo begins CZK 4.5 billion overhaul of heating plant in Mladá Boleslav, Czechia

Ško-Energo has begun a major overhaul of its heating plant in Mladá Boleslav, with biomass set to become its sole fuel. The modernisation will cost 180 million euros, or around 4.5 billion crowns. A grant from the Modernisation Fund of the State Environmental Fund will cover about half of the cost. This is the biggest modernisation in the plant’s history and is expected to be completed by the end of 2027. Martina Vulcová informed the Czech News Agency on behalf of the company.

“The site will also get large-capacity silos for storing wood chips, as well as a sorting facility,” the company said on its website.

Facilities for unloading and transporting wood chips to the boilers will also be built, and the rail siding will be extended. Biomass will consist of 70 percent wood chips and 30 percent so-called phyto-pellets made from crops grown for energy use. The plant will thus supply customers with services and products whose emissions are neutral on a balance-sheet basis.

Ško-Energo, whose majority owner is Škoda Auto, supplies energy to the carmaker’s operations in Mladá Boleslav and heat to businesses and more than 14,000 households in the city. It currently uses a mix of coal and biomass as fuel.