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Waste incineration plant makes the shivers go down
2009-09-19
Plans of Kaunas government to produce heat from litter caused discontent among the residents of the city, as well as of environmental organizations.
Threat to contract cancer
“Talks that waste incineration is a step towards energetic independence may be easily called another newspaper hoax, unhesitatingly spoke Linas Vainius, the representative of the environmental community “Atgaja” and the Environmental Coalition.
It has already been announced that during her visit to Kaunas the President Dalia Grybauskaitė declared that, after the shutdown of Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, Lithuania would also manage without a new thermal power plant in Kaunas and the city could be heated by burning litter.
According to Mr Vainius, Kaunas residents are at the present moment actively concerned with the locations where the waste incineration power plants are planned to be constructed.
“I am sure that after gaining an insight into this people will start expressing their will. After all, combustion of waste emits harmful substances to the environment, which even at low quantities make harm to people and may even lead to carcinogenic or reproduction reduction effect. These substances stimulate birth defects, infertility and other health-related problems. In the countries, where waste is combusted, research was conducted and specified results were received”, said Mr Vainius.
According to him, ashes and slag after waste combustion become dangerous waste and their accumulation is even more complicated and expensive.
“Lithuania is a small country with a small population. Therefore, it is possible to manage environment by bringing part of waste to landfills and sorting and recycling the remaining part. We do not need to wring hands dramatically or call for Providence in order to close down all the landfills. Lithuanian influence groups are likely to receive support from the EU Funds so as to assure long-term income to themselves. Waste incineration is the most expensive means of waste management and it is normal that all that will add up to additional charges to the residents”, said Mr Vainius.
Only 20 % of heat
Energy specialists and experts are confident that waste incineration power plant would not provide heat to hundreds thousand of urban residents.
Kęstutis Buinevičius, Associate Professor of the Department of Thermal and Nuclear Energy of Kaunas University of Technology, says that waste-fired power plants are useful because of the usage of secondary resources, but the technology itself is expensive. Waste-fired power plant may be in the capacity of 50-60 megawatts only and produce 34-36 megawatts of heat. However, even after the usage of the waste of the entire Kaunas region, it would be insufficient in order to produce considerable amount of power so as to provide heat to the entire Kaunas City. Such power plant could generate at maximum 20 % of heat required by the city.
Already in November 2007, under the order of “Kauno energija”, scientists from Kaunas University of Technology (KTU) carried out a study to analyze the possibility to construct a municipal waste-fired power plant. Conclusion of the scientists was that the overall number of municipal waste, collected in the whole Kaunas region, would be enough for the production of only up to 16 % of heat necessary to Kaunas City.
Nerijus Rasburskis, the director of energy consultancy and design company AF-TSP, explains that even given the most optimistic scenario, i.e. once 250 thousand tons of domestic waste suitable for incineration are collected in one year in Kaunas, Marijampolė and Alytus counties, it would be possible to arrive at a capacity of only 80-100 megawatts of heat production or capacity of 25-30 megawatts of a power plant respectively.
Kaunas city government have referred that they do not refute the possibility to combust waste and, thus, they are considering several options: to adjust Petrašiūnai Power Plant for waste incineration or construct a new biofuel-fired power plant.
Power plant does not fear its competitor
Rimandas Stonys, the Manager of Kauno elektrinė, which is implementing the project of the new thermal power plant in Kaunas, raises no objections to the construction of equipment for litter or biomass incineration.
“Energy of all types is necessary to Lithuania, be it nuclear, thermal or wind power. But it should not be believed that after the construction of wind power plants energy problems will be solved. The same situation is in Kaunas as regards heat production. Burning litter is not wrong, but capacity of waste incineration power plant would not be sufficient to ensure supply of heat to the consumers of Kaunas and, furthermore, the new thermal power plant would generate cheaper heat and also ensure generation of electricity to satisfy the needs of entire Lithuania” said Mr Stonys.
The new power plant in the capacity of about 350 megawatts should come into operation in Kaunas in 2013. EU directives include the promotion of development of efficient combined heat and power plants. This is also defined in the Lithuanian National Energy Strategy, adopted by the Seimas. Recently, such power plant was constructed in Panevėžys.
© Kauno diena