Narva Power Plants

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Coordinates: 59.353452° N 28.122811° E

The Narva Power Plants (Estonian: Narva Elektrijaamad) are a power generation complex in Narva in Estonia, near the border with Leningrad Oblast. The complex consists of the world's two largest oil shale-fired thermal power plants, Eesti Power Plant (Estonian: Eesti Elektrijaam) and Balti Power Plant (Estonian: Balti Elektrijaam), and an oil shale retorting plant.[1] In 2005, Narva Power Plants generated about 95% of total power production in Estonia.[2] The complex is owned and operated by AS Narva Elektrijaamad, a subsidiary of Eesti Energia.

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[edit] Balti Power Plant

The Balti Power Plant was built between 1959 and 1965. It is located 5 kilometres (3 mi) south-west of Narva, at the coordinates at the top of this article. As of the end of 2005, Balti Power Plant had installed capacity of 765 MW. The installed thermal capacity was 400 MW.[2] The cooling water is supplied from the Narva reservoir, which is closely connected to the Narva River via two 1 km long inlet channels.[3] The Balti Power Plant is the sole supplier of thermal power for the district heating system of Narva.

The Balti Power Plant is divided into an old and a new part. The old part initially had eighteen TP-17 boilers and eight 100 MWe turbines. Four boilers and two turbines are currently in operation. , while the others have been taken out of service. The new part has eight TP-67 boilers and four 200 MWe turbines.[3] All these boilers use the pulverized combustion (PC) technology. In 2003, the Unit 11 was reconstructed to use the circulated fluidized bed combustion (CFBC) technology, which is more efficient and environmental-friendly (lower SO2 and CO2 emissions) than PC technology.[4]

[edit] Eesti Power Plant

The Eesti Power Plant is located roughly 20 km west-south-west of Narva, around 59.269565° N, 27.902184° E. It was built between 1963 and 1973. As of the end of 2005, Eesti Power Plant had installed capacity of 1,615 MW. The installed thermal capacity was 84 MW.[2] Cooling water is supplied from the Narva River and Mustajõgi River via a 7 km long open channel.[3]

The Eesti Power Plant initially had sixteen TP-101 boilers and eight 200 MWe steam turbines. Fourteen boilers and seven turbines are currently in service.[3] In 2003, the Unit was reconstructed to use the CFBC technology.[4]

[edit] Oil shale retorting plant

An oil shale retorting plant (the UTT-3000 refinery) was built in the late 1970s next to the Eesti Power Plant to provide shale oil as a start-up fuel for the power plants.[3] The retorting plant consists two Galoter type retorts—both processing 125 tonnes per hour of oil shale.[1] Currently main products are fuel grade shale oil, raw material for bitumen and antiseptics.[3]

[edit] Ash disposal

The oil shale burnt at Narva produces roughly 46% ash , so the stations produce about 4.5 million tons of ash per year; the ash-disposal system involves washing it away with water, and the dirty water is stored in ash-storage lagoons which appear bright blue on the satellite photos. Balti has two storage areas; the western one is divided into twelve sub-regions by banks about three metres wide, and is already full. The eastern one is in current use and is divided into three sub-regions. The ash is highly alkaline, since the oil shale is essentially oil-soaked limestone.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Liive, Sandor (2007). "Oil Shale Energetics in Estonia" (PDF). Oil Shale. A Scientific-Technical Journal 24 (1): 1–4. Estonian Academy Publishers. ISSN 0208-189X. 
  2. ^ a b c (2006). "Estonia Energy in Figures 2005" (PDF). . Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications Retrieved on 2007-10-21.
  3. ^ a b c d e f (2002-05-15). "EBRD project summary document - Estonia: Narva Power. Environmental Issues Associated with Narva Power Plants´Executive Summary" (PDF). . European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Retrieved on 2007-10-23.
  4. ^ a b Laur, A. (2003). "Sustainability of oil shale-based electricity production" (PDF). Oil Shale. A Scientific-Technical Journal 20 (3 Special): 388–397. Estonian Academy Publishers. ISSN 0208-189X. 

[edit] External links