Veolia Group plans to produce waste-derived fuel at its Czech heating plant in Přerov

Recovera, part of the Veolia Group, wants to build a facility producing refuse-derived fuel (RDF) from waste at the heating plant in Přerov. The planned technology will have an annual processing capacity of 100.000 tonnes of non-recyclable municipal waste collected from the Přerov area and parts of the Olomouc and Zlín regions. The waste will be used to produce RDF for a new multi-fuel boiler installed at the Přerov heating plant. If it obtains the necessary permits, the investor wants to begin construction of the RDF production facility next year and bring the line into operation in 2025. The Czech News Agency (ČTK) obtained the information today from the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) database. New technologies for using municipal waste are intended to replace landfill disposal, which should end in 2030.

Recovera’s management justified the planned RDF production by saying that output of this fuel in the Olomouc Region falls significantly short of district heating companies’ needs. „This involves building a new waste management facility that will process residual mixed municipal waste, some biodegradable waste, rejects from plastic waste sorting and certain industrial waste suitable for energy recovery. All waste processed will be classified as non-hazardous waste,“ Recovera said in its notice. The planned facility in Přerov is expected to produce up to 80.000 tonnes of RDF from waste each year.

A new multi-fuel boiler using biomass has already been installed at the Přerov heating plant; it can burn up to 114.000 tonnes of RDF annually. The company has also commissioned two natural gas boilers with low-emission burners. As a result, it has taken two older coal-fired boilers out of service. „The project (RDF production) is located directly within the Přerov Heating Plant site, which is the primary destination for the RDF produced. Its location enables efficient collection from the Přerov area and the Olomouc and Zlín regions within a reasonable distance,“ the authors of the notice said. Up to 39 trucks a day are expected to deliver municipal waste to the heating plant site. However, Recovera says RDF production will not increase truck traffic in Přerov, as the heating plant is located in an industrial zone on the outskirts of the city and will be connected to the D1 motorway, which is under construction.

FCC ČR plans to build a line for producing RDF from municipal waste in Prostějov, near the railway station. The planned technology will process up to 50.000 tonnes of waste a year. FCC initially wanted to produce RDF in nearby Biskupice and transport it to the heating plant in Přerov for incineration. However, the municipal council opposed the plan. A petition was launched in the village and received more than 2000 signatures. FCC then abandoned its planned investment in Biskupice. The company also offered the planned processing capacity to Prostějov City Hall, which had withdrawn from the Olomouc Region Waste Services Company. This regional company, owned by local governments, will ensure waste disposal for towns and villages once waste management rules are tightened.