TEŠ terminates waste coincineration project in Šoštanj thermal power plant

Criticized for asking neighboring municipalities to express their opinion after the local assembly in Šoštanj already rejected the proposal, TEŠ announced it gave up on seeking an environmental permit for burning waste in its thermal power plant.

Termoelektrarna Šoštanj – TEŠ, part of government-controlled Holding Slovenske elektrarne (HSE), said it discontinued efforts to obtain an environmental permit for its project to burn solid waste together with coal in its thermal power plant. The firm earlier vowed to give up on the plan if the local community in the area in Slovenia’s north doesn’t support it.

The Municipality of Šoštanj then rejected the proposal to introduce coincineration, where a small share of the overall fuel would be solid recovered fuel or SRF. The two companies asked the assemblies of two neighboring municipalities to vote as well, but environmentalist movement Šaleško eko gibanje responded it isn’t in line with the said promise.

Šmartno municipality never intended to vote on Šoštanj project

TEŠ now says it only wanted to show respect toward the other municipalities, adding they should take a position only if they wish to do so. The authorities in Šmartno ob Paki stressed they never planned to vote on the issue while Velenje may decide only next month. An expert panel in Velenje already concluded that burning waste in Šoštanj would harm the environment.

An expert commission in Velenje already concluded that burning waste in Šoštanj would harm the environment and the official vote is planned to be held in March

The firm added the decision to scrap the project was made despite the management’s confidence that it is feasible and environmentally acceptable. Among other points, TEŠ expressed hope it can still find solutions together with the local community for a gradual transformation of the Šaleška valley into a low-carbon society.

TEŠ claims coincineration would prevent spikes in district heating price

The price of district heating was another sticking point with regard to coincineration. TEŠ claims that if a small share of waste was added, energy output would remain the same while that expenses for carbon dioxide allowances would be lower. It would prevent drastic increases in district heating bills, the firm underscores and points to the rise in prices of the certificates within the European Union’s Emissions Trading System – ETS.

Of note, today the benchmark futures topped EUR 40 per ton of CO2 for the first time in London. The price gained almost 23% since the beginning of the year and it has been setting records since the first half of December.