Maritsa TPP
Brief description:
Facts:
Maritsa lignite mining
Bulgaria is planning to retrofit carbon capture technology at the Maritsa Thermal Power Plant in the Stara Zagora area of the country. The project intends to eventually capture around 2.5 million tonnes per annum of CO2 at the 120MW lignite-fired power plant for storage in an onshore deep saline formation. The captured gas will be transported via new pipeline built for the project.
The project is being led by Bulgaria’s Ministry for Economy, Energy and Tourism, with Toshiba Corporation currently carrying out the feasibility study.
The Maritsa power complex
The Maritsa Iztok complex of three lignite-fired thermal power stations is the largest energy complex in south eastern Europe. It sources its entire feedstock from the area's large lignite coal basin. Maritsa Iztok-2, which is wholly owned by state energy company Bulgarian Energy Holding EAD, generates 30% of Bulgaria's electricity. Maritsa Iztok-1 is owned by AES Corporation of the US, which unveiled a new power plant in June 2011. Maritsa Iztok-3 is owned and operated by Energiina Kompaniya Maritsa Iztok 3 AD, which had been a joint venture between Italy's Enel and NEK. Enel had planned a new power plant at the site but, in June 2011, it sold its share of the existing facility to ContourGlobal LP.
Financing
Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation is sponsoring the project’s feasibility study, and funding has also been supplied by the Spanish Fund for Sustainable Development through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Timing
The feasibility study is expected to be completed in 2012, and the plant was scheduled to be fully operational by 2020. The project is currently not being pursued.