Czech utility ČEZ invests half a billion crowns in Počerady, cuts NOx emissions to a third

Measures to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions cost half a billion crowns, according to a published press release from the owner of the Počerady power plant, ČEZ, in order for the plant to comply with European Union directives. Residents of the Louny and Most districts can therefore expect NOx emissions to fall by up to 60 %.

From March 2014 to November 2015, measures worth half a billion crowns were carried out for ČEZ by Brno-based General Electric. As a result, the power plant meets stricter emission limits for combustion plants with a thermal input exceeding 50 MW, set out in European Directive 2010/75/EU on industrial emissions.

The Počerady power plant, which burns lignite, is, according to the Arnika association, the second-largest producer of greenhouse gases in the Czech Republic after the Prunéřov power plant. The measures implemented will reduce the plant's NOx emissions to roughly one-third of their original level. The overall impact for residents of the Louny and Most districts will be a reduction in NOx emissions of up to 60 %.

How the environmental upgrade works

“The environmental upgrade of the Počerady Power Plant was carried out in two ways: through primary and secondary measures. The first involved installing an additional level of overfire air in the boilers to ensure that the furnace cross-section is covered by overfire air flows even at reduced boiler output. The second method required modifications to the combustion systems, and urea is now injected into the pulverised lignite boilers,“ said plant director František Strach.

Installing the additional level of overfire air, together with air stratification control, will reduce NOx emissions from the current 650 to 400 mg/m³, while urea injection into the boilers will subsequently bring them below 200 mg/m³.