Electrocentrale București SA (ELCEN), the main supplier of heating for the centralized thermal energy supply system in Bucharest and one of the most important producers of electricity at the national level, exited insolvency on February 2. The company has fully covered the payment obligations assumed by the reorganization plan and also the current receivables. Thus, the Bucharest Court decided to reintroduce ELCEN into the economic circuit, more than six years after the opening of the insolvency procedure, at the request of the company.
The exit from financial difficulty paves the way for ELCEN to access non-reimbursable European funds or financing sources made available by national and international financial institutions, in order to make the thermoelectric plants (CETs, which stands for CHPs) it owns more efficient, the company states in a press release. In the next period, ELCEN will mainly focus on the implementation of major investment projects, namely the construction of new high-efficiency cogeneration thermoelectric plants.
Cogeneration plant at CET Bucharest Sud
The Feasibility Study for this investment has been completed. The optimal solution in the study envisages the creation of a new production capacity in high-efficiency cogeneration, in the premises of CET Bucharest Sud, with a gross electrical power of approx. 600 MWe and delivered thermal energy of approx. 376 Gcal/h which will use natural gas, and later be mixed with hydrogen. By comparison, the electrical power currently installed in ELCEN’s 4 CHPs is 586.25 MW.
The amount of 376 Gcal/h delivered from the new plant will easily cover the heating agent needed for the supply of hot water and heat to consumers connected to this plant. The plant will have new, high-performance equipment, which will be able to provide thermal and electrical energy with a global efficiency of approx. 86-90% and significant reductions in emissions.
Combined cycle cogeneration units at CET Grozăvești
In this sense, the Feasibility Study (developed in 2011 and previously updated in 2016 and 2019) was updated in 2022, in order to align with the current market conditions. The optimal solution resulting from the study foresees the implementation of a combined cycle of 46 MWe and 35 Gcal/h, having a global efficiency of approx. 84-90%, operating on natural gas, and further on mixed with hydrogen.
ELCEN is also considering the implementation of high-efficiency cogeneration capacities using thermal engines within CET Progresu, with an installed electrical power of 50 MWe and an installed thermal power of 50 MWt, as well as the utilization of free land and rooftops in the ELCEN premises by installing panels photovoltaics in order to produce renewable energy.
At CET Grozăvești, CET București Sud and CET București West, the existing capacities will be modernized and/or the re-technology of thermal energy production capacities in peak demand regime will be carried out.