There will be no waste incinerators. Gas and biomass will heat the city

• Veolia Południe has launched the Agat project, which is to lead to the comprehensive decarbonisation of the municipal heating system in Chrzanów.
• After abandoning the waste incineration plant, a biomass boiler room with a capacity of 2 x 2.5 MWt will be built in Chrzanów along with the necessary infrastructure.
• Additionally, a high-efficiency cogeneration system will be created, i.e. a solution enabling the simultaneous production of heat and electricity. The installation will be based on a total of four units.

On May 29, the construction of a biomass boiler and four gas cogeneration engines was officially inaugurated at the Chrzanów heating plant. Not long ago, an incinerator was to be built here, but now Veolia Południe has launched the Agat project, which is to lead to the comprehensive decarbonization of the municipal heating system, but without waste.

- The changes we introduced in local law made it impossible to implement the plans to build an RDF incinerator in the heating plant at Pogorska Street. Without giving up on decarbonization plans, Veolia Południe has focused on investing in gas and biomass. By the end of 2029, it will reduce coal consumption by as much as 80 percent - says the mayor of Chrzanów, Robert Maciaszek.

Clean air and energy supply security are among the main challenges and are high on the list of city priorities. That is why I am glad that Veolia is starting another investment that, based on clean fuels, will significantly increase the comfort of life in our city

- adds the mayor.

According to Veolia, the new installations will reduce coal consumption by about 80 percent, which will have a positive impact on the city's air quality . Completion of this stage of the project is planned for 2029, and finally, in 2030, the Chrzanów heating plant is to stop using coal altogether.

In Chrzanów, a biomass boiler room with a capacity of 2 x 2.5 MWt will be built along with the necessary infrastructure. Additionally, a high-efficiency cogeneration system will be created, i.e. a solution enabling the simultaneous production of heat and electricity. The installation will be based on a total of four units. In the first stage (planned completion in 2027), two with a capacity of 1.2 MWt and 1.2 MWe will be built, and the delivery of two more, also with a capacity of 1.2 MWt + 1.2 MWe, is planned for 2028.

Earlier, as part of the decarbonization process of the Chrzanów heating plant, a gas boiler room was launched in 2022, based on three units with a capacity of 2.8 MW each. This allowed for the diversification of heat sources in the system and the reduction of dust and CO2 emissions . The heating plant in Chrzanów also reduced the purchase of electricity for its own needs, thanks to the launch of a 100 kW photovoltaic installation in 2024.

We operate in harmony with local and regional governments, implementing solutions that are optimal for a given location. The adopted cooperation model means that the effect is individually selected technologies and solutions that increase the security of supplies and guarantee our partners, including residents, environmental and economic benefits. It is similar in Chrzanów

- says Magdalena Bezulska, CEO of Veolia Term.

Previous plans for a plant to generate heat from waste. In 2021, Veolia began a procedure that was to result in the construction of a facility for thermal treatment of waste. The waste incineration plant was to be built on the premises of Veolia's heating plant, which is located between two Chrzanów housing estates: Stella and Młodość. Some residents protested against the investment, but the local government looked favorably on the entrepreneurs' plans. However, the residents did not give in.

Ultimately , the local government made a decision that led to the abandonment of the incinerator - last year the city council adopted a spatial development plan that excludes the construction of such a facility.