The total amount of EU funding in TENT since 2000 is around €200 million. With that assistance, the emission of solid particles into the air has been reduced six times, and the modernisation of facilities achieved a 4.2 million ton reduction in the use of coal. Annual production of electric power in TENT has increased by 400 megawatts, and energy efficiency has increased by 12percent thanks to the assistance of the European Union.
Almost half of total electric energy in Serbia is produced in Obrenovac, some 30 kilometres from Belgrade. This means that half of all technical appliances in Serbia (refrigerates, computers, TVs, vacuum cleaners, light bulbs) are charged with electricity produced in the Nikola Tesla power plants (TENT). In order to achieve this, these plants annually “swallow” around 30 million tons of coal (lignite) which is transported daily to TENT from the Kolubara mine in 13 trains comprising 27 wagons and transporting locomotives.
Large quantities of soot are released into the atmosphere from the furnaces of the plant which would have a detrimental effect on the living world in the surrounding area if electrostatic precipitators were not used. In the reconstruction of these electrostatic precipitators, the European Union (EU) invested €18 million within the programme of support for the energy sector in Serbia. An electrostatic precipitator is a special device that (using an electrostatic charge) keeps ashes against the walls of the chimney, from where they fall to the floor through mechanical shaking, then mixed with water, and transported to a dump site.
TENT A Obrenovac
The biggest Thermal Power Plant in Serbia, consisting of six units with a total installed power of 1,650 megawatts. Built on the right bank of the Sava River, near Obrenovac, it is the biggest individual producer of electric power in the Serbian electric power system. On average, more than 8 billion kilowatt-hours are produced per year. The first unit was commissioned in 1970. Six units work within the Plant.
TENT B Usce
It is located on the right bank of the Sava River, 50 kilometers west of Belgrade and 17 kilometers upstream from TENT A complex. It has the two largest power units (B1 and B2) in Serbia, with 620 megawatts of power each, and operational since 1983.
TENT in Obrenovac has two units: TENT “A“ and “B“ which annually produce around 3.5 million tons of ash. The transport of ash and slag from TENT to landfill sites – over 4.5km away – would present a serious threat to the environment, especially for the 70,000 citizens of Obrenovac, if the EU did not also invest €28 million in the ash removal and transport system. The Project prevented the ash from being blown by the wind at the 400 hectare dump site, and the amount of water for ash transport has been reduced ten times which has permanently stopped the pollution of ground water.
A safe and healthy environment
Construction of modern electrostatic precipitators on TENT chimneys and the establishment of the “reduced/small water” transport of ash and slag to the dump site (preventing ash being blown by the wind) is an important example of the modernisation of the energy system in Serbia. The Project was implemented by experts from TENT, “Energoinvest” from Sarajevo, and the Hungarian company EWB, and is the biggest Project of that type in Southeast Europe.
The new system requires one litre of water for one kilogramme of ash for filtration, while the old one required 10 to 15 litres of water. The new technology of ash disposal from TENT allowed a saving of around 18 million tons of water annually. This manner of storage will allow TENT to annually sell around 25,000 tons of ash to the building and cement industry and gain additional income. Otherwise, during one year of ash removal, the height of the dump site near Obrenovac rises by three metres.
The most important donations of the European Union to the energy sector:
- Reconstruction of electric power production
- Improvement of environment protection
- Projects for preparation of studies for big investments and credits (EBRD, EIB, KfW)
- Assistance for mines in Serbia
- Establishment of market for electrical energy
- Establishment of the Serbian Energy Efficiency Agency and the Energy Agency
- Construction of transmission lines in direction Nis – Leskovac – Macedonian border
- Importing of electric energy
- Improvement of remote heating system in 5 cities in Serbia
The most important result of this Project represents a significant quality improvement of the environment for the citizens of Obrenovac and surrounding area – especially air and water quality.
According to data from 2006 provided by the Primary Health Care Centre Obrenovac, the number of children diagnosed with asthma in the town was five times bigger compared to the number of children in the downtown municipality Stari Grad in Belgrade. The new filters and safe ash disposal have drastically changed that image.
The EU invested around €84 million in TENT (since 2000) intended solely for the purpose of improving the living environment and to decrease harmful gas emissions detrimental to the environment. The EU supports the project for the construction of electrostatic precipitators in units A6, B1 and B2 in TENT with €21 million, and will dedicate an additional €15 million for the construction of a station for water filtration in Obrenovac.
Apart from significantly better air quality in Obrenovac and the surrounding area, the project for the modern transport of ash and slag from TENT to dump site, protected the quality of underground waters and springs, which prevented a disturbance of the balance in the eco-system throughout the whole area.
“After complete reconstruction of filters in TENT A6, TENT B2 and TENT B1 that were implemented from 2010 to 2012 by donation from the European Union, emission of dust particles from thermo-block is drastically reduced and it is now lower than 50 milligrams per cubic meter. It is absolutely within the limits prescribed by the EU norms. It is important that by this new equipment we rapidly increased dust collection efficiency and adjust it with limits set up by the EU, deriving from the Directive 2001/80/ES for large combustion plants. Shortly, after installing EU funded electro-static filters we reduced emission of dust particles eight times on A6 block, and almost 3 times on blocks B2 and B1”, says Milan Petkovic, TENT Deputy Director. With EU support in 2014/2015 reconstruction of electro-static filters in TENT A3 in Obrenovac as well in thermo power-plant “Morava” in Svilajnac is planned.
Electric Power Industry of Serbia (EPS), which TENT belongs to, has dedicated significant resources to environmental protection at all its production facilities in Serbia. Environmental protection, production of clean energy, an increase of energy efficiency and the use of alternative energy sources – these are important issues on the road to harmonisation of the energy sector in Serbia with European standards.
Until now, the EU has funded the development of several studies and analyses which would additionally improve the energy sector in the future in the fields of alternative energy sources and the electric power market.
The total EU donation to the energy sector in Serbia from 2000 to present day is more than half a billion (€521.5 million).
