Chinese-led consortium to build desulfurization unit at BiH’s power plant Kakanj

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s state power utility Elektroprivreda BiH and a consortium led by China’s Dongfang Electric International Corporation have signed an agreement on building a flue gas desulfurization unit at thermal power plant Kakanj. The facility should ensure cleaner air in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The agreement on the construction of the flue gas desulfurization unit at thermal power plant Kakanj was signed by Sanel Buljubašić, general manager of Elektroprivreda BiH (EPBiH), Fahrudin Tanović, executive director for production at EPBiH, and project manager Zhu Weilin on behalf of the consortium.

The consortium comprises Dongfang Electric International Corporation, Zenica-based ITC, China’s State Power Investment Group Yuanda Environmental Protection Engineering, Sarajevo-based Saraj inženjering and Winner, and Firing from Visoko.

The project involves the construction of a joint desulfurization facility for power generation units 6 and 7 at the Kakanj plant, according to a statement from EPBiH.

The thermal power plant will operate in line with the Energy Community’s directives

The value of the investment, financed with EPBiH’s own funds, is BAM 126.4 million (EUR 62.8 million). The project is targeted for completion within 36 months.

EPBiH says the project aligns with the Energy Community’s directives which prohibit the operation of thermal power plants without desulfurization and denitrification facilities after 2027. It is also in line with obligations under Bosnia and Herzegovina’s National Emission Reduction Plan (NERP BiH) and EPBiH’s energy transition and decarbonization strategy until 2050.

The contactor is required to complete the desulfurization facility at Kakanj by August 21, 2027.

The construction of the facility will enable the two power generation units at Kakanj to operate after January 1, 2028 and bring sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions within the limits set by the regulations and NERP BiH, according to EPBiH.

Desulfurization project at power plant Tuzla is underway

The desulphurization project at Kakanj, says EPBiH, will ensure electricity generation from the company’s own sources to supply domestic consumers, as well as the production of thermal energy for heating in the city of Kakanj.

The project will also reduce the thermal power plant’s environmental footprint, further improve cooperation with the local community, and extend the operation of the mines that supply coal to Kakanj, EPBiH added.

To comply with the Energy Community’s directives prohibiting the operation of thermal power units without desulfurization facilities after December 31, 2027 and ensure electricity production from its own coal-fired power plants after this deadline, EPBiH has launched a procurement procedure for the construction of a desulfurization facility at unit 6 in its thermal power plant Tuzla.

Power utilities in the region are struggling with SO2

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions are a major problem for thermal power plants in the Western Balkans. The Comply or Close report, published in September, shows that these power plants released more SO2 into the atmosphere in 2023 than in 2022. To address this problem, power utilities are installing desulphurization units.

In April, Serbia’s state power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) put into operation another such facility at its thermal power plant Nikola Tesla A (TENT A), while installation is underway at Nikola Tesla B (TENT B).

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske (ERS) commissioned a desulfurization unit at the Ugljevik thermal power plant in October 2020.