The 'shore' way to clean energy: A combined heat and power generating plant in Wladyslawowo, Poland

摘要

Many production processes have traditionally been geared towards a single end-product. Any by-products were primarily considered waste, and if a use could be found for them at all, this was usually coincidental and not by design. Increasing environmental awareness and rising energy costs are sparking a re-think, but rarely can a by-product that was previously discarded be put to not one but four good uses. A drilling platform off the Polish coast used to flare off the gas that was produced with the oil. Meanwhile, the coastal resort of Wladyslawowo was heated by a multitude of coal and oil-fired plants that had detrimental effects on the local air quality. What better use for the waste gas than to replace these units by a combined power and district-heating plant? ABB was entrusted with supervising the construction and also with delivering the control system and much of the electrical equipment. Besides providing electricity and heat and improving air quality, the new plant on the beach supplies LPG (liquefied propane gas) and gasoline to other users. Not bad for a product that would otherwise be going to waste!