Coal-fired power plant Prunerov I to shut down on June 30

Prunerov, North Bohemia, June 5 (CTK) - Czech coal-fired power station Elektrarna Prunerov I, built 53 years ago, will shut down on June 30, and its 150 employees will be transferred to Elektrarna Prunerov II, head of Prunerov and Tusimice power stations Otakar Tucek told journalists today.

A coal phase-out schedule will be set by the end of this year, Industry, Trade and Transport Minister Karel Havlicek said today after the meeting of the state's coal commission.

The coal era is ending, Environment Minister Richard Brabec said.

Prunerov I's capacity is 440 megawatts (MW).

During its existence, Prunerov I generated an amount of energy that would currently cover more than two years in Czechia.

Power stations Elektrarny Prunerov, run by power utility CEZ, rank among the largest greenhouse gas producers in Czechia.

NGO Arnika said that the Prunerov power stations produced 4.5 million tonnes of greenhouse gases in 2018, which was the second largest volume after the Pocerady power stations. Prunerov ranks high also in the production of dusts, gases causing acid rain, and mercury.

Environmental organisations Zeleny kruh (Green Circle), Hnuti Duha (Friends of the Earth) and Greenpeace welcomed the announcement about the Prunerov I shutdown. Now it is possible to close other outdated and wasteful power stations, they said in a press release today. Especially power stations Pocerady and Chvaletice should follow.

One unit of Prunerov I consumes 2,000 tonnes of coal a day, the power station's operations head Zdenek Pulpan said, adding that it had six units until the 1990s. Two units were shut down in 1990 and 1991, decreasing the capacity to 440 MW from 660 MW.

CEZ's strategy is based on gradual lowering of greenhouse gas emissions, and the company's future is a mix of nuclear power and renewables, plus gas-fired heating plants, CEZ head Daniel Benes said.

CEZ shut down 500 MW of coal-fired sources year on year. It has closed nearly 1,000 MW, which equals one unit of nuclear power station Temelin, he said.

CEZ wants to use the Prunerov I premises for business, with options including the construction of a combined-cycle power plant, solar farm and battery storage system, Benes said.

The coal commission met on the Prunerov premises today. They voted that the criterion for shutting down coal-fired power stations should be the amount of greenhouse gases per unit of produced energy, environmentalists said.

This decision is appreciated but it does not guarantee anything, commission member Jan Rovensky from Greenpeace said.

The important thing will be the speed and end of the phase-out, he said.

The commission's environmental organisations want the last coal-fired power plant to be closed in 2030 and the last coal-fired heating plant to follow by 2035, Rovensky said.

The commission has come up with three coal phase-out scenarios, envisaging it in 2030-2035, 2035-2045 or 2045-2050.

The final scenario submitted to the government will include technical and economic parameters, Czechia's commitments to the European Commission, and estimated price of emission allowances, which will play a major role, Havlicek said.

Activists demanding the fastest possible end of coal mining and burning gathered at Prunerov II today.

Prunerov I and II constitute the biggest coal-fired complex in Czechia with an installed output of 1,190 MW.

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