Construction of a CFB fluidized bed unit with the capacity of 75 MWe is the key element of the JSW Group's power safety strategy. The investment project with the net worth of PLN 507 million will make it possible to maximize the use of JSW Group's fuel base, in particular the low calorific value coals, sludge and methane. Reconstruction of the Zofiówka CHP Plant generating capacity will allow the plant to operate and employment to be maintained for 30 more years. The agreement with contractors, signed on 14 October 2013, envisages the commissioning of the unit into commercial use in Q4 2016.
The unit will generate power for the JSW Group and for individual customers and will ensure continuous supply of heat for Jastrzębie-Zdrój, a town of 100 thousand inhabitants. The investment assumes that the circulating fluidized bed technology will be used, which is the optimum combustion technology for mixtures of different fuels. The CFB technology does not require construction of costly exhaust desulfurization and denitrogenation systems, because it ensures the required emission standards through the relative low temperature of combustion and recirculation of exhaust fumes, while maintaining high efficiency.
– Construction of the CFB unit will increase the energy efficiency of the Zofiówka CHP Plant by 30% and radically reduce emissions of SO2, NOx, CO2 and dust into the atmosphere. As a result, the company has been granted gratuitous carbon emission rights - said Tomasz Gawlik, the President of the Management Board of Spółka Energetyczna "Jastrzębie".
– The project we are implementing is a model example of corporate social responsibility, contributing significantly to the reduction of the plant's footprint in the environment and improving the quality of life of the inhabitants. At the same time, this project if fully profitable, with a positive NPV.
onstruction of the CFB unit is part of the “Energetyka 2016” programme implemented by SEJ. It assumes that the company will adopt the requirements of the IED Directive on industrial emissions and improvement of its efficiency, as well as reconstruction and modernization of the PEC heating network (co-funded using the funds from the National Environmental Protection and Water Management Fund). The total net value of the investments carried out as part of the program is PLN 947 million (without inflation). Its financing is based on the funds from the SEJ capital raise by JSW and the funds raised by a bond issue placed for Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego and Alior Bank.
In the transaction, Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego acts as an arranger, underwriter, issue agent, security agent, payment agent and custodian and ensures financing of PLN 280 million.
– The bond issue program agreement for Spółka Energetyczna “Jastrzębie” is another transaction concluded by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego within the framework of the “Polish Investments” Programme We commit together with a commercial bank to finance an infrastructural undertaking and this way we fulfill the tasks assigned to us by the government, while acting as the state development bank - noted Dariusz Kacprzyk, President of Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego.
Alior Bank acts in the transaction as the arranger, underwriter, payment sub-agent and sub-custodian, providing the amount of PLN 140 million. – Development of the corporate banking franchise is one of Alior Bank's priorities. This is why we cooperate with BGK to actively support companies such as SEJ S.A., which issue bonds to finance strategic investment plans - said Wojciech Sobieraj, President of the Alior Bank's Management Board. The share of banks in the long-term process of financing development of Polish companies is of utmost importance for our economy, which in turn efficiently translates into further growth and therefore improved international competitiveness of our domestic entrepreneurs.
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Spółka Energetyczna “Jastrzębie” generates electricity and heat for industrial purposes and for inhabitants of Jastrzębie-Zdrój and the neighboring areas. The company also produces compressed gas and chill for the Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa mines. SEJ is the leader in using methane from mine methane removal for the production of heat and chill to air-condition mine workings in a trigeneration process. In 2011, SEJ took over control of Przedsiębiorstwo Energetyki Cieplnej S.A. in Jastrzębie-Zdrój, which resulted in a significant consolidation of the company's situation on the power market. Spółka Energetyczna “Jastrzębie” is part of the JSW Capital Group and its sole shareholder is Jastrzębska Spółka Węglowa.