ENERGY
The ORLEN Group is a significant producer of electricity and heat, used in large part to satisfy the Group’s own production needs, as well as one of main distributors of electricity in Poland. It is also one of the largest consumers of gas in Poland and an active participant in the process of gas market liberalisation.
Main production assetsof the ORLEN Group
The ORLEN Group currently owns power generation assets in three countries. In Poland, they are located, inter alia, in Płock, Ostrołęka, Elbląg, Włocławek, Jedlicze and Trzebinia; in the Czech Republic – in Litvinov, Spolana, Kolin and Pardubice; and in Lithuania – in Mazeikiai. In terms of the share of electricity from renewable sources in total energy output, the ORLEN Group owes its strong market position mainly to hydropower plants and wind farms owned by the Energa Group. Green energy is generated in 46 hydropower plants, 6 wind farms, biomass combustion installations (at Energa Elektrownie Ostrołęka and Energa Kogeneracja) and two solar photovoltaic units.
The ORLEN Group’s power generation assets and their technical parameters
Wind power plants
- The Bystra wind farm of Energa OZE is located in the Gdańsk Province, County of Pruszcz Gdański, in Bystra, Dziewięć Włók and Wiślina. It is the smallest and also the newest farm located in the vicinity of Gdańsk. Within an area of 2 sq. km there are 12 GAMESA G90 turbines totalling 24 MW in capacity.
- The Karcino wind farm of Energa OZE is located in the Szczecin Province, County of Kołobrzeg, between Karcino and Sarbia. Within an area of 6 sq. km there are 17 Vestas V90-3 turbines totalling 51 MW in capacity.
- The Karścino wind farm of Energa OZE is located in the Szczecin Province, County of Białogard, near Karlino in northern Poland. It is made of 60 Fuhrländer FL MD77 turbines with a total capacity of 90 MW, and occupies an area of 11 sq. km.
- The Myślino wind farm of Energa OZE is located in the north west of Poland, in the Szczecin Province, County of Kołobrzeg. It was put into service in 2014. It is made of 10 Gamesa G97 wind turbines with a total capacity of 20 MW.
- The Parsówek wind farm of Energa OZE is located in the Szczecin Province, Municipality of Gryfino. It is made of 13 Gamesa G90 turbines with a total capacity of 26 MW.
- The Przykona wind farm of Energa OZE was built on a coal mine reclamation site in the Przykona municipality, County of Turek. It is made of 9 wind turbines with a total capacity of 31.05 MW.
Solar farms
- PV Delta at Energa OZE, in operation since the second half of 2014. It is located at ul. Benzynowa in Gdańsk, near the Bystra wind farm. The farm consists of 6,292 photovoltaic panels combined into 286 sets. Each set contains 22 photovoltaic modules in series connection. The farm’s installed electrical power is 1.63 MWp.
- PV Czernikowo at Energa OZE, located in the Czernikowo municipality. The farm’s installed electrical power is 3.77 MWp. The farm consists of nearly 16,000 panels, each with a capacity of 240 Wp, covering an area of over 22,500 square metres.
Hydroelectric power plants
- The Włocławek hydroelectric power plant of Energa OZE, with its installed capacity exceeding 160 MW and an average annual output of 750 GWh, is Poland’s largest run-of-the-river plant. It generates more than 20% of the total output of Polish hydroelectric power plants. The Włocławek power plant was placed in service in 1969. It has six vertical hydroelectric sets with PŁ 661-W-800 Kaplan turbines produced in the former Soviet Union
- The Żydowo pumped-storage power plant of Energa OZE, built in 1971, is operated as an energy source in periods of sudden or peak demand. This means that in the event of a sudden power shortage, water is released through the turbines, and when there is excess power, the plant pumps the water back. This power plant is a natural energy storage facility. Its installed capacity is 157 MW, with three contributing turbine generator sets equipped with Francis turbines and Skoda Pilzno generators.
- Small hydroelectric power plants of Energa OZE: 44 small hydroelectric power plants with a total installed capacity of approximately 40 MW. Most of them are located in the north of Poland, and one in the south of the country.
CCGT plants
- CCGT Włocławek – the unit is operating normally, supplying electricity and process steam to the Anwil complex. In 2020, the CCGT plant was an active participant of the electricity market, cooperating closely with PSE. Its relatively high installed capacity and significant flexibility made it possible for the plant to provide ancillary services to PSE, contributing to the power system’s stability. In 2020, the CCGT plant produced 2.9 TWh net of electricity and supplied 1.3 PJ of heat in the form of process steam to Anwil.
- CCGT Płock – operated normally with warranty support and service agreements in place. The performance of CCGT Płock was stable throughout 2020. There were two scheduled shutdowns to clean the gas turbine compressor blades. Under the main service agreement, preparations were under way for a gas turbine overhaul, involving replacement of burners and a gas turbine hot gas path inspection, scheduled for the first quarter of 2021. As a producer of heat and power in cogeneration, the CCGT plant covered the shortage of these utilities at the Płock production plant, while remaining an active participant of the electricity market and providing ancillary power reserve services to the transmission system operator PSE. In 2020, the unit generated 3.8 TWh net of electricity and 3.9 PJ of steam supplied to the Płock production plant system.
Surplus electricity from the new CCGT assets is sold both on the wholesale energy market and to end customers.
- In terms of thermal capacity, PKN ORLEN’s high-efficiency combined heat and power plant in Płock is the largest industrial plant of this kind in Poland and one of the largest in Europe. It is the main supplier of steam heat, heating water and electricity to the Group’s production units in Płock and to external customers, including the city of Płock. Following the launch of a new TG7 turbine generator set and shutdown of the TG1 unit (which is to be upgraded), the total installed power generation capacity of the CHP plant stands currently at 358.9 MW. The upgraded TG1 turbine generator set is to be put into operation in September 2021, bringing the plant’s total power generation capacity to 428 MW. Boilers of the CHP plant are fired with heavy fuel oil derived from crude oil distillation and with natural gas. Currently, the Płock CHP plant is undergoing a thorough overhaul and upgrading of primary generating equipment, including the installation of a new substation (GPZ 3) scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2023, protection system upgrades for boilers K1 to K7, including BMS controllers, scheduled for completion by the end of the fourth quarter of 2024, upgrade of high-pressure headers scheduled for completion by the end of the fourth quarter of 2026, upgrade of two turbine generator sets TG4 and TG5 scheduled for completion by the end of the fourth quarter of 2027. In addition, the Płock CHP plant is an active participant of the development programme for the Płock production plant with respect to the construction of energy infrastructure.
- The ORLEN Południe Group’s CHP plant in Trzebinia fully satisfies the Trzebinia plant’s demand for steam heat and heating water, and partly its demand for electricity. The CHP plant is fuelled with natural gas and fine coal. A new natural gas-fired heat source launched in 2019 is undergoing expansion (construction of a third gas boiler) scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2021. After the project is finished, approximately 60% of the demand for heat will be covered by a low-emission gas source.
- The ORLEN Południe Group’s CHP plant in Jedlicze, fired mainly with fine coal, is the Jedlicze plant’s main supplier of heat in the form of process steam. Other fuels used at Jedlicze include natural gas, fuel oil and C4 fraction.
- The Anwil CHP plant is the primary source of heat in the form of medium pressure process steam and, at the same time, the peak-load and reserve source of heat for the Włocławek chemical complex. For process purposes, Anwil relies mostly on low pressure process steam from the Włocławek CCGT unit owned by PKN ORLEN.
- The Unipetrol Group’s CHP plant in Litvínov, using mainly lignite as fuel, fully meets the Litvínov plant’s heat demand and partially satisfies its electricity demand. Design work is now under way for a new CHP plant project based on high-efficiency gas-fired cogeneration, which will ultimately replace the existing plant. The new CHP plant is expected to be launched after 2025.
- The CHP plant in Spolana is the main source of heat for the Spolana facility. Since 2020, when the construction of a new gas-fired boiler house was completed and the existing coal-fired CHP plant was taken out of service, 100% of the demand for heat has been covered by a low-emission source.
- C Paramo (Pardubice and Kolin) fully secure the heating needs of two production facilities in Kolin and Pardubice. The heating plants are fired with natural gas
- The ORLEN Lietuva CHP plant is a source of process steam used in production processes, while ensuring stability of the power system. The plant is fired with natural gas, refinery gases, C4 fraction, and fuel oil.
- The Elbląg CHP plant of Energa Kogeneracja sp. z o.o. is the largest source of heat and electricity in Elbląg (Olsztyn Province). The heat generated by this source covers approximately 80% of the demand of the district heating system in Elbląg. The CHP plant is fired with coal and biomass.
- The Kalisz CHP plant of Energa Kogeneracja sp. z o.o. is the largest source of heat and electricity in Kalisz. The heat generated by this source covers approximately 70% of the demand of the district heating system in Kalisz. The CHP plant is fired with coal.
- The Żychlin CHP plant of Energa Kogeneracja sp. z o.o. is the main supplier of heat for the city. The heat generated by the plant is transmitted and distributed through district heating networks, most of which are owned by the company, and so is the plant itself. The CHP plant is fired with coal and biomass.
Commercial power plants
The Ostrołęka B power plant of Energa Elektrownie Ostrołęka is the only commercial power plant in the north-eastern region of Poland, which supplies energy to the Polish Power System. It also produces heat for industrial and municipal customers from the area of Ostrołęka. Its boilers use coal as a primary fuel. The power plant consists of three generating units with a capacity of 230 MW each. Its generating capacity totals 690 MW.
Offshore wind power generation
Offshore wind power generation
Through its special purpose vehicle Baltic Power, PKN ORLEN holds a licence (i.e. a permit to construct and use artificial islands, structures and equipment within Polish sea areas) to build offshore wind farms in the Baltic Sea with a capacity up to 1,200 MW, complete with technical equipment, measurement instrumentation and maintenance infrastructure. The licence area, of approximately 131 sq. km., is located about 23 km north of the Baltic coastline, roughly at the latitude of Choczewo and Łeba. The offshore wind power project is consistent with PKN ORLEN’s strategy and is in line with long-term plans for development of Poland’s energy sector. It will support generation of zero-emission energy which can be used for the Company’s own consumption, processed, stored, or sold.
In line with the planned schedule and budget for 2020, an environmental survey in the wind farm area, preliminary seabed survey and wind survey were completed, negotiations and grid connection agreements were finalised (the agreement was signed in January 2021) and two offshore cable laying permits were secured. An application for an environmental decision was also submitted within the planned time frame and is now being processed. As a result of these activities, preparations for the main geotechnical seabed surveys could be started and design work was launched for the offshore wind farm equipment and connection.
Work was carried out within the individual workstreams to secure port and logistics infrastructure and a preliminary supply chain plan was developed for the project. The PKN ORLEN team engaged in an active dialogue with market participants, which included one of the first market meetings: the Offshore Wind Supply Chain Meeting, and they cooperated actively with internal and external project stakeholders.
The preliminary engineering and building permit design will be prepared by Offshore Design Engineering Ltd, a UK-based company with more than 20 years of experience with such assignments. This work stage was preceded by months of wind surveys and examinations of the geological structure of the seabed. The completion of design work will enable the project implementation schedule to be planned in detail. Offshore Design Engineering Ltd designs offshore wind farms for the world’s largest companies and project owners. Its track record includes almost 8 GW designed in UK waters, and 3.2 GW in North European seas and in other parts of the world, where another 2.6 GW of generation capacity designed by ODE is being developed. The contract signed with the contractor includes preparation of detailed technical designs for the main offshore wind farm equipment.
In January 2021, Canada-based Northland Power Inc. became PKN ORLEN’s strategic partner for its offshore wind farm project in the Baltic Sea. The parties’ cooperation is to involve the preparation, development and operation of a wind farm with a target capacity of up to 1.2 GW. The Canadian company will ultimately acquire a 49% interest in the project. The purpose of the partnership with Northland Power Inc. is joint implementation of the Baltic Power wind farm project. NP Baltic Wind B.V. of the Netherlands, which is a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Northland Power Inc. (NPI), listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, will be a direct shareholder of Baltic Power after the joint venture agreement is executed. NP Baltic Wind B.V. is a special purpose vehicle established by NPI for the purposes of the project to be executed jointly with PKN ORLEN.
Logistics assets
Logistics assets
Electricity distribution is part of the ORLEN Group’s core business. This activity is regulated in Poland and it is based on tariffs approved by the President of the Energy Regulatory Office (URE). Energa Operator S.A. is the leading entity within this business line. The Group’s distribution assets are located in northern and central Poland. The Group uses them to supply electricity to 3.2 million customers, of which approximately 3.0 million have signed comprehensive agreements and 178,000 are TPA (third party access) customers.
As at the end of 2020, the total length of the Group’s power lines exceeded 191 thousand km and covered almost 75 thousand sq. km, i.e. about one-fourth of the area of Poland. Since 2020, the ORLEN Group’s distribution business has been promoting and pursuing a strategy adopted by the European Union that involves energy decarbonisation and reduction of emissions from transport, especially in urban areas. The key activity undertaken by Energa Operator S.A. with this aim in mind is the construction of 283 EV charging stations across 8 cities: Gdańsk, Gdynia, Koszalin, Elbląg, Olsztyn, Płock, Toruń and Włocławek, by the end of March 2021. Charging stations and electric vehicles using the stations will not only increase the demand for electricity in the Polish Power System (replacing hydrocarbon fuels), but also, due to their built-in energy storage, are likely to become a participant of the balancing market in the future relying on the V2G technology, i.e. two-way electricity flow at charging stations.
