Regulated combustion of fuels covers all installations with a total rated thermal input of 50 MW or more. Two or more combustion plants with a rated thermal input of 15 MW or more, discharged through a common stack, of which the added total capacity exceeds 50 MW, are together considered to be one LCP (Article 29 Industrial Emissions Directive).
LCPs be can normally found in the electricity production sector or they provide energy directly to industrial installations, such as for instance in the sugar, (petro-) chemical, refinery, metallurgical, textile, or pulp and paper sectors. Standalone LCPs can also be found as district heating plants.
In Turkey the sector of thermal power plants in the energy generating sector operates the most significant category of large combustions plants.
As concerns the threshold of 50 MW the European Commission has concluded that for the combustion of fuels in plants with a rated thermal input less than 50 MW, a clear potential for cost-effective abatement of air emissions exists. The Commission had announced taking steps to assess options for potential regulatory action resulting in 2015 in the adoption of the Directive (EU) 2015/2193 on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from medium combustion plants (Medium Combustion Plant (MCP) Directive) which regulates pollutant emissions from the combustion of fuels in plants with a rated thermal input equal to or greater than 1 MWth and less than 50 MWth.
Turkish combustion plants use a variety of fuels, including domestic coal (such as lignite), imported coal, oil, natural gas, asphaltite. The caloric value of Turkish coal is low. This is most specifically the case with lignite. All petroleum and natural gas are imported. From the coal approximately 20% is imported. Turkey has extensive reserves of low grade lignite, hard coal, some asphaltite and bitumen. Production of indigenous coal mainly feeds into domestic power generation.
A quarter of the energy needs is covered by renewable sources, a level that is planned to increase to 30% by 2023. Renewable energy sources in Turkey are in principle multiple: wind, solar energy, geothermal energy, biomass and vast amounts of hydro power. According to international data the country had in 2005 the world’s fifth highest direct utilization and capacity of geothermal power[1].
The construction of nuclear power plants is also part of the future energy provision planning.
Emissions
Environmental impacts generated by large combustion plants include emissions to air, water consumption, discharge of wastewater, waste management, as well as noise in many cases. Levels of air emissions highly depend on the type and quality of the fuel that is used in the combustion process. In case of the use of coal, the main pollutants are fine particles, SO2 and NOx. Other polluting effects derive from emissions of metals and serious climate effects can be caused by CO2 emissions. Coal storage and the mixing yard are other important air polluting activities.
Europe’s most polluting power plants are all coal-fired and include in particular those that use SO2, NOx and CO2 – emission intense lignite. As good practice shows pollution by such plants can be significantly reduced when e.g. using electrostatic precipitators, flue-gas desulphurisation and DENOx systems.
The final report of the project ‘Improving Emissions Control’[2] calculated that the electricity sector in Turkey is responsible for 60% of all SO2 emissions and 34% of NOx emissions in the country. The report also indicated that these emissions are responsible for almost € 8 billion of marginal damage costs to the environment; calculations that were confirmed by the 2013 Regulatory Impact Assessment report of the ‘IPPC-project’[3].
Annex V of the EU’s Industrial Emissions Directive sets emission limit values for LCPs in EU countries.
[1] Lund, J. W.; Freeston, D. H.; Boyd, T. L. (2005). "Direct application of geothermal energy: 2005 Worldwide review"; Geothermics 34 (6): 691–727
[2] Project TR0802.03-02/001 (2010-2012)
[3] Project TR0802.04-02/001 (2012-2014)
