On 18 March DNV published the findings of its assessment of the revamp of the Prunéřov II power plant in the Czech Republic. The assessment concludes that the refurbishment project complies with most Best-Available-Techniques (BAT) requirements, but deviations were observed on net unit efficiency and on CO2 emissions. The technical reasons for deviating on net unit efficiency have not been fully explored by the investor. Insufficient technical justification was found on the deviation on CO2 emissions. DNV, an independent international risk management firm, was contracted by the Czech Ministry of the Environment to assess the proposed revamp project for the Prunéřov II power plant early February. The scope included the technical analysis of compliance with BAT as described in BREF documents, the evaluation of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process and documentation, and the calculation of the impact of deviations from BAT in terms of CO2 emission. The EIA process was conducted in line with Czech requirements and current practice in Europe. In general, the EIA documentation adequately shows that the project will improve environmental quality compared to the current level. Issues of concern are the localized deterioration of air quality, the absence of asbestos and contaminated land survey data, and the uncertainty on the future impact of seepage water from the stabilized combustion by-products. The impact from the deviation on net unit efficiency in terms of CO2 emissions is calculated as 205,082tns of CO2 per year, which corresponds to an increase of 5% over the projected emissions from a BAT-compliant plant.
