Mitsubishi Power, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group, has received an order for two sets of one of the world’s largest flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems for the Nikola Tesla B coal-fired power plant in Serbia. This is the second order from Serbia for FGD systems, the first having been an order for two sets for the Nikola Tesla A coal-fired plant received in September 2017, and the third such order in the Western Balkans, including an order received in July 2016 for the Ugljevik Power Plant in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The newly ordered FGD systems each have a flue gas desulfurization capacity of 670 megawatts (MW), with operation scheduled to commence in 2024. Together with the two sets ordered for the Nikola Tesla A plant of which the construction is on-going, the new installations will further reduce sulfur dioxide (SO2) and particulates emissions, thereby helping to meet European Union (EU) environmental standards and support Serbia’s quest to join the EU.
The Nikola Tesla B power plant is operated by Public Enterprise Electric Power Industry of Serbia (EPS). It is located some 60 kilometers southwest of Belgrade, the capital, and roughly 20 kilometers west of the Nikola Tesla A plant, the country’s largest. The newly ordered two sets of FGD systems will be installed in units 1 and 2, which have a total output of 1,340 MW.
In accepting the new order, Mitsubishi Power has formed a consortium with three local companies: Energotehnika Juzna Backa, Gosa Montaza AD, and EX ING B&P Construction. Mitsubishi Power will take charge of project management and all facets from basic design to delivery and installation of core equipment, and the consortium partners will perform local supply, civil engineering, and installation work. FGD system design and coordination will be undertaken at Mitsubishi Power’s Kure Works in Hiroshima Prefecture. The project will be wholly financed by EPS.
The Nikola Tesla B power plant, like Nikola Tesla A, uses lignite coal as fuel, which has higher levels of sulfur and lower caloric value than other coal types. The added installation of Mitsubishi Power’s FGD systems will reduce emissions of SO2 and particulates. SO2 emissions will be cut by 96%, achieving a level of 130mg/Nm3(1) required to comply with the European Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) and the new BREF (best available techniques reference) requirements issued by the EU. Mitsubishi Power’s FGD technologies for lignite-fired boilers, coupled with its successful track record of supplying more than 300 units worldwide, were key factors behind the company’s selection to receive this latest order.
Going forward, Mitsubishi Power will continue to proactively propose its high-performance and high-efficiency desulfurization and denitration systems and electrostatic precipitators, as well as its Air Quality Control Systems (AQCS) integrating these offerings, to the European and other global markets, where demand for such equipment is expected to grow as emissions regulations become increasingly severe. In doing so, the company is committed to helping reduce environmental impact on global scale.
(1) mg=milligram. Nm3=normal cubic meter, a unit to express the amount of gas present in a volume of 1 cubic meter at 0 degrees Celsius and 1 atmospheric pressure.