ČEZ to build a low-emission heating plant in Dětmarovice, Czechia, for CZK 2 billion

ČEZ will build a low-emission heating plant in Dětmarovice in the Karviná region for two billion korunas. Its main sources will be an 8-megawatt biomass boiler plant and two cogeneration units with a combined capacity of 20 megawatts. It is due to be completed in 2026. ČEZ Group representatives told reporters in Dětmarovice today. By 2040, ČEZ wants to invest tens of billions of korunas in the Moravian-Silesian Region and also plans to develop small modular reactors, renewable energy sources and batteries.

„There will be biomass boiler plants, cogeneration units and gas boiler plants here. This energy mix will ensure the most efficient heat supply. For us, this is an important element in providing low-emission heat to the residents of Bohumín and Orlová. It will be completed by 2026 at the latest,“ said Rostislav Díža, chairman of the board and CEO of ČEZ Teplárenská.

ČEZ has been working for several years to transform the coal-fired power plant in Dětmarovice into a modern, low-emission heat source. The year before last, it began trial operation of the first of two new gas boiler plants, which are intended to serve as backup and peak-load sources in the future. It has a capacity of 18 megawatts. Another gas boiler plant, with a capacity of three times nine megawatts, is in preparation. The company will then shut down the coal-fired boilers. According to ČEZ representatives, modernising the heating plant is expected to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, sulphur, nitrogen and solid pollutants by an estimated 94 to 98 percent.

Pavel Cyrani, vice-chairman of the board of ČEZ, said the company’s main goal is to preserve the benefits of district heating for customers in the region. He noted that ČEZ has already modernised the heating plant in Ostrava-Vítkovice, which switched from coal to gas and where the company launched the largest battery system in the Czech Republic this year. „In Dětmarovice, we are preparing a small modular reactor project, and we are also gradually building solar and wind power plants in the region. These projects should help ensure competitive energy prices for everyone over the long term,“ Cyrani said.

ČEZ Group employs more than 2,000 people in the Moravian-Silesian Region. Dětmarovice Power Plant is the largest conventional coal-fired power plant in Moravia and Silesia. It has been in operation since 1975 and, with a capacity of 800 megawatts, was the most powerful hard-coal-fired power plant in Czechia. In addition to supplying electricity to the grid, it provides heat and hot water to approximately 38,000 residents of Orlová and Bohumín.

Representatives of both towns and ČEZ signed long-term contracts today for the purchase of heat from the new sources through at least 2040. Around 5,800 households in Bohumín receive district heating from Dětmarovice, while in Orlová the figure is almost 9,000. „Maintaining supplies from the new, more environmentally friendly Dětmarovice plant is crucial for us. I am glad that, thanks to the agreement with ČEZ, we will preserve the benefits of district heating for as many of our residents as possible for decades to come,“ said Orlová Mayor Lenka Brzyszkowská (ANO).

Dětmarovice Power Plant Director Martin Hančar said that no date has yet been set for the plant to stop burning coal, but the coal-fired units will certainly remain in operation through the next heating season. Once decommissioned, the facility will be demolished. „The demolition will involve the cooling towers, chimneys and operational buildings, such as the boiler house, turbine hall and water treatment plant, among others. We expect the administration building to remain. The process will take several years. Once the site has been cleared, it will be ready for a new investment and new technology, whether that is a possible combined-cycle gas plant or a small modular reactor. We are working with both scenarios,“ Hančar said.