Opatovice power plant gets construction permit for waste incinerator in Čeperka, Czechia

Opatovice power plant has obtained a construction permit for a waste-to-energy facility (WtE). It wants to build the incinerator in the cadastral area of the municipality of Čeperka, the plant’s spokesperson Hana Počtová told the Czech News Agency (ČTK). The permit was issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Transport and Energy Construction Authority, and the project had previously received a positive environmental impact assessment (EIA). Construction costs are estimated at seven billion crowns. Čeperka has long opposed the project and may appeal the permit.

„This site was, and remains, the preferred option for carrying out the project. It fully meets the requirements for building a facility of this type and satisfies all the parameters required as part of the relevant permitting processes. That is why we are continuing to follow the plan and proceed with the next steps at this location as the project’s baseline option,“ Počtová said.

Residents of neighbouring Opatovice nad Labem rejected the construction of the incinerator in a referendum in 2006. The power plant therefore moved the project to another part of its premises, in the cadastral area of Čeperka, where residents also opposed it in a 2022 referendum. The municipal council is trying to amend the zoning plan, but the process is protracted.

„We have a council meeting on Wednesday, so we’ll discuss it, and I expect we will appeal the permit. We have 15 days to do so, and I think it would be appropriate,“ Čeperka Mayor Kristina Vosáhlová told ČTK.

The municipality is having a new zoning plan drawn up. The current plan’s text states that a waste incineration facility may be built at the power plant. The municipality now wants to change the wording so that only waste generated on the power plant’s premises, rather than waste brought in from elsewhere, can be incinerated there. Vosáhlová said the power plant is expected to challenge the proposal.

The power plant has also drawn up a backup proposal for an incinerator in the cadastral area of neighbouring Hrobice; both sites are within the power plant’s premises. Hrobice supports the plan, but the project is still awaiting an EIA opinion.

The power plant is currently completing the tender documentation for the public contract. The tender will be launched within the next few months and will take into account not only investment costs, but also overall efficiency and operating requirements throughout the facility’s life cycle.

The project’s investment costs are estimated at around seven billion crowns. „An important factor is that WtE Opatovice has received support from the Modernisation Fund under the HEAT programme, covering approximately 60 percent of investment costs. This grant is conditional on meeting precisely defined deadlines, so sticking to the schedule is absolutely crucial. We plan to bring the facility into operation at the turn of 2028 and 2029,“ Počtová said.

The incinerator is expected to process 150.000 tonnes of waste a year, equivalent to 480 tonnes per day. The heat generated would be distributed through the power plant’s district heating system. The plant supplies heat to Pardubice, Hradec Králové, Chrudim and other towns and municipalities. The project envisages annual heat production of 615 terajoules (TJ), of which 17 TJ would be used internally, and electricity production of 78,5 gigawatt hours (GWh) a year. Internal electricity consumption would amount to 15,7 GWh.

Opatovice power plant in the Pardubice region wants to stop using lignite as fuel entirely by the end of 2030. It is to be replaced by natural gas, biomass and the incineration of municipal waste, with the possible addition of photovoltaic panels. Decarbonisation will be carried out in several overlapping stages, with coal-fired boilers gradually taken offline.