Waste Thermal Treatment Plant in Kraków (Ekospalarnia)

The Municipal Waste Thermal Treatment Plant in Kraków, known as Ekospalarnia, is a waste-to-energy facility located in the south-eastern part of the city, in the Nowa Huta district (District XVIII), at 23 Jerzego Giedroycia Street. The beneficiary and investor of the project was Krakowski Holding Komunalny S.A. w Krakowie (a municipal company owned by the City of Kraków). The construction contract was signed in 2012, construction works began on 6 November 2013, and the general contractor was the South Korean company POSCO Engineering & Construction Co. The facility was ultimately handed over to KHK S.A. for operation on 27 June 2016, and the physical scope of the project was completed on 30 November 2016. The total cost of the project was approximately PLN 666 million net (approximately PLN 819 million gross); co-financing from the Cohesion Fund under the Operational Programme Infrastructure and Environment (POIiŚ) amounted to approximately PLN 372 million (approximately 55.8% of eligible costs), and the investment was also supported by a preferential loan of PLN 293 million from NFOŚiGW (the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management). The plant can process (recover) a stream of 220,000 tonnes a year of mixed municipal waste (up to a maximum of approximately 245,000 tonnes), providing, through cogeneration, recovery of the energy contained in the waste and production of electricity and heat (approximately 100,000 MWh of electricity a year). The plant uses modern equipment meeting Best Available Techniques (BAT) requirements.