Eesti Energia Narva Elektrijaamad, Sweden, says it has decided to install desulphurisation equipment on two additional units at the Eesti power plant in order to meet increasingly stringent environmental standards.
The Estonian utility is already in the process of installing desulphurisation equipment on two units at the Eesti plant under a contract signed in March 2009 with Alstom Estonia and Alstom Power Sweden. That contract included an option to convert a further two units, which Eesti Energia has decided to take up.
The utility says that the cost of converting the two additional units will be EUR100 million.
Work is currently in progress to equip units 3 and 6 at the Eesti power plant with deSOx equipment. Installation work will begin on units 4 and 5 in early 2011, and will be completed by 2012.
“This agreement is an important step in making electricity generation from oil shale more environmentally friendly and ensures that we will be able to use our production capacities in the future as well,” said director of Eesti Energia Narva Elektrijaamad Ilmar Petersen. “For this purpose we decided to install by 2012, when the sulphur emission standards become more stringent, desulphurisation equipment on a total of four units at Eesti power plant.”
Eesti Energia says that the operation of unit 3 at the Eesti power plant will be suspended this month (February) so that the deSOx equipment can be installed. This work will be completed in February 2011. Work will begin on unit 6 in August 2010 and will also take approximately 12 months.
