SO2 emissions from Nikola Tesla B coal plant to be reduced 20 times by 2024

Coal-fired power plant Nikola Tesla B, one of the ten largest SO2 emitters among power plants in Europe, will install a flue gas desulphurization facility to reduce the emissions of the dangerous air pollutant from 80,000 tons per year to 4,500 tons.

Serbia’s power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) has officially started the construction of a flue gas desulphurization plant in Nikola Tesla B (TENT B) thermal power plant. The EUR 210 million investment will be implemented by Japanese Mitsubishi Power while the deadline for completion is March 2024.

The investment is estimated at EUR 210 million euros, and the contractor is Mitsubishi Power

According to EPS, sulfur dioxide emissions will be reduced from 3,000 milligrams per cubic meter to 130 milligrams, and the volume of solid particles will be cut from 50 milligrams per cubic meter to below 10 milligrams. Lower emissions are expected to help reduce air pollution which gets worse as heating starts.

TPP Nikola Tesla B took the 6th place on the list of the ten largest SO2 emitters among power plants in Europe

SO2 emissions, one of the main air pollutants, were six times higher than allowed last year. On the 2016 list of the ten largest SO2 emitters among power producers in Europe, the Nikola Tesla B thermal power plant took the 6th place.

EPS is struggling to reduce SO2 emissions from its power plants. The company started the construction of a desulphurization facility at TPP Nikola Tesla A last year, and plans to extend the life of TPP Kostolac A by building such a unit.

EPS has completed the construction of a desulphurization facility at the Kostolac B thermal power plant, but the project is causing numerous controversies in the public.

Kostolac B breached Serbia’s overall national limit by 1.45 times and its individual level by almost ten times, with 79,113 tons.

Mihajlović: Without reducing emissions, thermal power plants will not be able to work

EPS’s acting General Manager Milorad Grčić said the new project would reduce air pollution, and improve energy stability in the country. Out of the EUR 210 million, domestic companies will conduct work worth EUR 120 million.

According to Grčić, projects like this one guarantee the future of coal-fired power plants in Serbia as well as energy stability.

The desulphurization project at the Nikola Tesla B power plant will reduce sulfur dioxide emissions from the current 80,000 tonnes per year to 4,500 tonnes, which is about 20 times lower, he added.

Energy security is just as important as environmental security

Minister of Mining and Energy Zorana Mihajlović said the beginning of the project is important for a healthier environment, but that the vision is even more important if Serbia wants big changes.

Energy security is just as important as environmental security, and if Serbia doesn’t invest in reducing harmful emissions, it means that thermal power plants cannot continue to operate, she said.

Minister of Environmental Protection Irena Vujović said systems like these contribute to faster harmonization of Serbian regulations with EU regulations.

“Our imperative is environmental protection and better air quality,” she added.