Morava power station

From Global Energy Monitor
(Redirected from TPP Morava Power Plant)

Morava power station is an operating power station of at least 120-megawatts (MW) in Svilajnac, Pomoravlje, Serbia with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Morava power station Svilajnac, Svilajnac, Pomoravlje, Serbia 44.223826, 21.163148 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • Unit 1: 44.223826, 21.163148
  • Unit 1: 44.22458862, 21.16254134

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology CHP Start year Retired year
Unit 1 operating coal - lignite 120 subcritical 1969 2024 (planned)
Unit 1 shelved[1][2] gas[1] 120[1] combined cycle[1] not found

CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name Owner Parent
Unit 1 Elektroprivreda Srbije Beograd AD (EPS) [100.0%]
Unit 1 Elektroprivreda Srbije (ERS)[1] Elektroprivreda Srbije (ERS) [100.0%]

Project-level coal details

  • Coal source(s): Polje B mine, Polje D mine, Tamnava Istok mine, Tamnava Zapad mine

Background

The one-unit coal plant began operating in 1969. The power station is owned and operated by Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), a government owned utility.[3]

Coal supply

Coal for the plant is supplied by an EPS subsidiary, MB Kolubara plc, which operates four coal mines -- the Polje B mine, the Polje D mine, the Tamnava Istok mine and the Tamnava Zapad mine.[4]

In early 2022, financial and energy security concerns prompted the announcement that four million tons of coal would need to be imported for Elektroprivreda Srbije's plants to operate. The coal system was facing instability throughout the region.[5]

Fatal Accident

In January 2022, a subcontractor was fatally injured while working at the plant's slag heap. According to reports, Elektroprivreda Srbije did not properly notify the community of the incident, and the police did not disclose the record.[6]

Coal to gas conversion

In December 2021, it was reported that state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) intended to convert its Morava thermal power plant from coal to fossil gas. Coal power plant Morava was expected to shut down by the end of 2023. It was operating under the opt-out mechanism, an implementation alternative under the EU’s Large Combustion Plants Directive (LCPD) which provides the possibility for an exemption of individual plants from national compliance regimes. In exchange, the plants cannot be operated for more than 20,000 operational hours between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2023.[7]

As of January 2024, there was no news on the gas conversion, it appears that a Morava solar farm of 45 MW will be developed instead.[8]

Unlawful Operation

Bankwatch report from June 2023 reported that by the end of 2022, Morava had operated for a total of 23 051 hours since 2018 and continued to operate to this day. A complaint by the Renewables and Environmental Regulatory Institute and CEE Bankwatch Network challenging Serbia’s failure to comply with pollution control rules under the Energy Community Treaty was recorded by the the Energy Community Secretariat.[9]

Earlier in February 2023 EPS stated that Morava plant will be shut down by the end of 2024.[10]

In October 2023, the Energy Community Secretariat initiated a dispute settlement procedure against Serbia over its refusal to close the Morava power station despite the expiry of its opt-out mechanism period.[11]

June 2023 report on increasing pollution levels by Balkan coal plants highlighted that sulphur dioxide emissions from the Morava plant quadrupled in 2022.[12]

Articles and Resources

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 https://web.archive.org/web/20221213142335/https://balkangreenenergynews.com/eps-to-convert-coal-fired-power-plant-morava-to-natural-gas/. Archived from the original on 13 December 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. https://web.archive.org/web/20220709033211/https://teitimes.com/post/eps-of-serbia-to-convert-morava-power-plant-from-coal-to-gas. Archived from the original on 09 July 2022. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |archive-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  3. "Serbia", Eurocoal, accessed July 2011
  4. "About Us: Basic Data: Economic Assosiation for Coal Production, processing and Transport MB Kolubara plc", Elektroprivreda Srbije website, accessed July 2011
  5. "Serbia: EPS must also import coal", Serbia Energy, May 22, 2022
  6. "Nasilna smrt radnika u TE „Morava“: Šta je razlog izostanka zvaničnog saopštenja?," Danas, February 3, 2022
  7. "EPS to convert coal-fired power plant Morava to natural gas," Balkan Green Energy News, December 13, 2021
  8. "Serbia's EPS gets EU grants for solar plant projects within coal complexes". balkangreenenergynews.com. December 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. "Serbia: Complaints over illegal operation of Morava coal power plant". bankwatch.org. June 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. "EPS sets out plan for shutting down coal power plants". balkangreenenergynews.com. February 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. "Energy Community opens case against Serbia for refusing to close TPP Morava," Balkan Green Energy News, October 24, 2023
  12. "Coal plants in Western Balkans increase pollution, legal breaches in 2022". /balkangreenenergynews.com. June 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

Additional data

To access additional data, including interactive maps of the power stations, downloadable datases, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.