Gjakova city in Kosovo sets example in sustainable district heating with new biomass plant
With its new biomass-fired cogeneration plant and the ongoing reconstruction and expansion of the district heating network that it supplies, Gjakova[1], a city in Kosovo’s west, has set an example for municipal authorities in the Balkans in switching to sustainable district energy technology.
The energy sector is the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions and a heavy polluter. While the switch of electricity production to cleaner technologies is gaining pace, heating is more challenging. Similar to the rest of the Western Balkans, Kosovo is still mostly dependent on traditional fuels: wood, fuel oil and coal.
Moreover, only three cities have district heating, with mostly old pipes and substations, which break down a lot. The government in Pristina[2] is yet to assess the potential for high-efficiency cogeneration and efficient district heating and cooling.
But the enthusiasm of the local authority in Gjakova and its district heating firm is already moving the needle with the introduction of biomass and the modernization and expansion of the network. The project is a blueprint for other municipal units in Kosovo for the energy transition in the sector.
First thin white smoke instead of clouds of soot
The District Heating Co.[3] of Gjakova now operates a biomass cogeneration plant instead of the old facility, which was in the city centre and ran on fuel oil. The combined heat and power (CHP) system [4]was built using European funds.
The first thin white smoke that came out of the chimneys when the plant was put into operation last year marked a victory for the city and the local community and all the people that contributed to enabling better district heating and cleaner air.
The endeavour drew interest from municipal authorities across Kosovo, motivating them to turn to sustainable technologies. It earned District Heating Co. a place among the Energy Transition Champions in the Western Balkans, promoted by Balkan Green Energy News.
“We managed to overcome difficulties that arose with the coronavirus pandemic and, more recently, the war in Ukraine, with just minor delays in project implementation. Our team did a very important job. The old heating plant worked for just eight to 12 hours per day, so the benefits of 24-hour working regime are obvious for households and our other customers in Gjakova. But there is also the advantage regarding the environment, together with job opportunities in the biomass supply chain,” the utility’s Chief Executive Officer Albana Skivjani said.
The government is currently subsidising the purchases of biomass, she added. However, next winter the utility should be able to cover its expenditures alone, according to Skivjani. Calculated for a 24-hour heat supply from biomass, costs are 50% lower than they would be for fuel oil, she explained.
District heating projects were funded with EU and Swiss grants
The first step was the feasibility study, funded with a EUR 600,000 grant through the European Union’s Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF)[5]. It was completed in 2015. The conclusion was the future plant should be fuelled with woodchips from forestry residues and the waste from wood processing and vine pruning.
The EU provided EUR 15 million in total for the facility, which consists of two heat-only boilers, one combined heat and power unit and two heat storage spaces. Total heat production capacity is 15 MW and the cogeneration system also generates up to 1.1 MW of electricity.
The district heating upgrade doesn’t stop there. Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs – SECO[6] provided a EUR 4.5 million grant for the modernisation and expansion of the network, while the Municipality of Gjakova participates with EUR 500,000. The works are close to 90% done.
All substations are equipped with heat meters which will enable the introduction of a billing system and enable customers to pay in accordance with their consumption.
SECO granted another EUR 800,000 for the rehabilitation of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in the Regional Hospital Isa Grezda[7]. A total of nine public buildings have been connected to the heating network. It now serves 30,000 people or 40% of the population of the municipality in Kosovo’s west.
Hardships led to improvements in management
The construction of the biomass plant began in January 2020, just ahead of the first lockdowns in Europe. The activities were soon halted, says Vladislav Pavićević, Project Management Team Leader from Egis, which was selected as the supervision authority. “Despite the Covid-19 challenge, our team managed to cope with pandemic rapidly and we resumed the works shortly,” project’s Team Leader pointed out.
The supplier, Urbas Maschinenfabric[8] from Austria, succeeded in manufacturing and delivering the equipment in the middle of the pandemic.
“The first heating season with the new system started only slightly later than usual and planned, in November, and this is a huge success of the whole team devotedly working on this project,” Pavićević concluded. The network was just partly reconstructed at the time, but this year it is in a good condition.
We need clean air, affordable fuel
The new cogeneration plant was installed outside of town, which helps reduce air pollution. In any case, emissions are line with the EU’s Medium Combustion Plant Directive.[9]
“We need clean air and we need affordable fuel,” says Lendita Gashi, Energy Program Manager in the EU Office in Kosovo. She asserted that the switch to biomass also boosts economic activity. The feasibility study showed one hundred jobs would be created in the biomass supply chain for the combined heat and power plant.
As for challenges, Gashi warned of the risk of getting biomass from quality wood instead of sanitation harvest – forestry waste, which would make the system unsustainable. Next, she pointed to the energy crisis and fuel shortages, saying that the price of woodchips doubled and that there aren’t enough woodchips yet in the market for a steady supply.
WBIF funded a feasibility study for the construction of district heating systems based on renewables in eight cities in Kosovo, she noted. It is scheduled to be completed by mid-2023, after which further steps are needed regarding mobilizing financing for implementation with the European Investment Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and other international financing institutions, Gashi revealed.
Not long before other cities introduce sustainable district energy systems
The capital Pristina, which is already turning to solar thermal technology, and North Mitrovica (Kosovska Mitrovica)[10] are the only other cities with district heating facilities.
What is the next planned move for the authorities of the seventh-largest city in Kosovo and the utility?
“It is important to secure the local market for the summer period, so that the new plant can work throughout the year. We are working on the start of production of thermal energy for sanitary water for the hospital and other potential customers,” CEO Skivjani said. She suggested that investments are needed to expand the network and the energy production capacity.
One of the options for future improvements is solar heating combined with biomass and geothermal energy.
Source
Balkan Green Energy News: Gjakova city in Kosovo* sets example in sustainable district heating with new biomass plant, in: Balkan Green Energy News, 9-12-2022, https://balkangreenenergynews.com/gjakova-city-in-kosovo-sets-example-in-sustainable-district-heating-with-new-biomass-plant/
[1] Gjakova is the seventh largest city of Kosovo[b] and seat of Gjakova Municipality and Gjakova District. The city has 40,827 inhabitants, while the municipality has 94,556 inhabitants. Geographically, it is located in the south-western part of Kosovo, about halfway between the cities of Peja and Prizren. It is approximately 100 km inland from the Adriatic Sea. The city is situated some 208 kilometres north-east of Tirana, 145 kilometres north-west of Skopje, 80 kilometres west of the capital Pristina, 435 kilometres south of Belgrade and 263 kilometres east of Podgorica.
[2] Pristina is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. The city's municipal boundaries in Pristina District form the largest urban centre in Kosovo. After Tirana, Pristina has the second largest population of ethnic Albanians and speakers of the Albanian language.
[3] Ngrohtorja e Qytetit Gjakova in Albanian
[4] CHP is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies using a range of technologies and fuels. With on-site power production, losses are minimized and heat that would otherwise be wasted is applied to facility loads in the form of process heating, steam, hot water, or even chilled water. CHP can be located at an individual facility or building or it can be a district energy, microgrid, and/or utility resource that provides power and thermal energy to multiple end-users. CHP equipment can provide resilient power 24/7 in the event of grid outages, and it can be paired with other distributed energy technologies like solar photovoltaics (PV) and energy storage. https://www.epa.gov/chp/what-chp
[5] The Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) supports socio-economic development and EU accession across the Western Balkans through the provision of finance and technical assistance for strategic investments. It is a joint initiative of the EU, financial institutions, bilateral donors and the governments of the Western Balkans. The WBIF provides financing and technical assistance to strategic investments in the energy , environment, social, transport, and digital infrastructure sectors. https://www.wbif.eu/about/about-wbif#:~:text=It%20is%20a%20joint%20initiative,transport%2C%20and%20digital%20infrastructure%20sectors.
[6][6] SECO is the federal government`s centre of excellence for all core issues relating to economic and labour market policy. It is our aim to contribute to sustained economic growth, high employment and fair working conditions, by creating the necessary regulatory, economic and foreign policy framework. https://www.seco.admin.ch/seco/en/home.html
[7] Spitali Rajonal 'Isa Grezda' is a hospital in Kosovo. Spitali Rajonal 'Isa Grezda' is situated nearby to Posta e Kosoves and Fati-im Hospital.
[8] URBAS has been constructing trendsetting energy systems for the intelligent use of biogenic fuels for more than 30 years. URBAS systems are specially designed for energy recovery from the inhomogeneous fuels that accrue in sawmills and wood-processing plants or in forestry. Special combustion systems are used for the utilisation of recycling wood. A dedicated research department is permanently engaged in innovations on the topics of ENERGY and BIOMASS. The realization of plants for the sustainable use of biogenic fuels according to economic and ecological criteria - this is the competence of URBAS. https://www.urbas.at/en/energietechnik/
[9] The Medium Combustion Plant Directive (MCPD)regulates pollutant emissions from the combustion of fuels in plants with a rated thermal input equal to or greater than 1 Megawatt thermal (MWth) and less than 50 MWth. https://ec.europa.eu/environment/industry/stationary/mcp.htm
[10] North Mitrovica or North Kosovska Mitrovica, is a town and municipality located in Mitrovica District in Kosovo. As of 2015, it has a population of 29,460 inhabitants. It covers an area of 11 km2. North Mitrovica is a part of North Kosovo, a region with an ethnic Serb majority that functions largely autonomously from the remainder of ethnic Albanian-majority Kosovo. The municipality was established in 2013 after North Kosovo crisis, previously being the settlement of the city of Mitrovica, divided by the Ibar river. Following the 2013 Brussels Agreement, the municipality is planned to be the administrative centre of the Community of Serb Municipalities.
