The Prunerov II plant and the CEZ group
The Prunerov II station – An overview
The Prunerov II power station is CEZ's newest fossil power station. It was started between 1981 and 1982, and was commissioned up to 2020. The plant is situated on the western edge of North Bohemia, by the town of Chomutov.
Its significance is paramount:
- Largest coal-fire powered station in Czech Republic
- Largest source of carbon dioxide emissions in the country
- One of the biggest coal-fired plants in Europe.
Prunerov II is currently reaching the end of its first commission, but its operator, CEZ, intends to expand it for another 25 years. The group announced in late 2009 new modernization plans.
This rapidly became a very hot topic, nationally as well as internationally. CEZ was accused of taking a capitalist approach by refusing to use the Best Available Technologies which would cut down pollution. In April 2011, the Czech Ministry of Environment issued a positive environmental impact statement that cleared the way for the modernization plans.
The CEZ Group
CEZ rose in 1992 from the public firm “Ceske energetické zavody’s” sell. In 2003, CEZ bought out most of the regional electricity distribution companies, becoming the CEZ group and nearly achieving national monopoly. The company generated record benefits, thus becoming the most profitable Czech firm. The CEZ group is now a multinational conglomerate of 96 companies, and also operates in Albania, Austria, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Kosovo, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Turkey.
We can read on CEZ' webpage that the company invests a lot into environment - especially regarding coal-fired power plants - through such programs as refurbishment of the plants or desulphurization, both aimed at reducing the CO2 emissions. Therefore, we could assume that the environmental concern of local and international actors have been taken into account by the company. Yet, as every firm, CEZ intends to become the leader on the Central and Southeastern European electricity market. Its policy is much more benefits-oriented than environment-centered.
CEZ - A political actor?
CEZ’s influence on politics has often been criticized. Indeed, it participated to the funding of the country's largest political parties - the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and the Social Democrats (CSSD). We might fear that the CEZ lobbying power allows him to always reach an agreement with the government that will be benefit it.
Between February and April 2010, there were three successive environment ministers in the Czech government. There are growing rumors that the CEZ group is behind these political scheme, pressuring to obtain an environmental report that would allow the company to implement its plans. The last environment minister is said - tells Brsik, former environment minister and member of the Green Party - to be "playing into CEZ's hands". This unprecedented situation led the Chief of the Constitutional Court Pavel Rychetsky to ask: "Is it CEZ or the Cabinet that runs the country?"
Coal-fired power plants -
Mechanisms and environmental consequences
Mechanisms
Because images are sometimes easier to understand than words…
How does a coal-fired station work?
Coal-fired power is a rather simple process: coal-fired plants transform coal into electricity by pulverizing it and burning it in a furnace. The burning coal heats water in a boiler and turns it to steam. The steam, under huge pressure and to a high temperature provides the force to turn the turbine blades. The turbine spins an electro-magnet inside coils and a generator. This produces a flow of electrons, that is to say electricity.
Environmental consequences and Climate Change
Coal-fired power stations do not only originate important atmospheric pollution, but sewerage and solid remnants pollute soils and waters as well. Furthermore, the very implantation of such plants leads to a significant damage of the grounds: migration of the fauna, clearing, huge water drawing for the supply…
A huge amount of the pollution produced by a coal-fired power plant comes from the ashes. A distinction is here to be made: there are two types of polluting ashes:
- Ashes coming out of the chimneys, loaded with heavy, radioactive or poisonous elements – such as uranium, arsenic, chromium,
mercury, even sulfur, responsible for acid rains.
mercury, even sulfur, responsible for acid rains.
- Ashes coming out of the ovens, which are less polluting. They are then buried.
Coal-fire powered stations eject a huge amount of CO2 into the atmosphere: 40% of the world CO2 emissions come from electricity production, whereas transportation only stands for 20%.
These substances increase the greenhouse effect, and therefore contribute to Climate Change.
This has for indirect consequence the sea-level rise that affects the Federated States of Micronesia.
Opposition in Czech Republic
While the Prunerov II plant makes waves on international level, particularly with the well-known environmental NGO Greenpeace and its activists, an opposition movement also developed inside the Czech borders. However, both do not rely on the same argumentation: while Greenpeace takes a stand for the Micronesian people – with regards to the sea level rise - local associations object to the coal plant’s land-use permit and the pollution that is linked to it.
The “Chomutov pod poklickou” petition
Along with the Czech environmental NGO Arnika, some locals have gathered together oppose to the current modernization plans of the Prunerov II power plant. The civil association is implanted in the city of Chomutov hence their name: “Chomutov pod poklickou CEZ" –They issued a petition addressed to Martin Roman, CEZ's CEO, as well as to Vladimir Tošovský, Minister of Industry and Trade, and to Ladislav Mika, Minister for Environment.
They ask CEZ – supported by the Czech and EU legislation – to implement the Best Available Technology (BAT) for the new facilities, as sketched in the IPCC directive from 2008 regarding integrated pollution prevention and control. The petition also urges CEZ to promptly issue the report required by the Ministry of Environment, asserting the plant’s effects on the environment. They consider that North Bohemian inhabitants pay with their health the benefits CEZ makes each year. According to them, a part of the benefits should be given up in order to use cleaner and more modern equipments.
If these requirements should be rejected, the local association demands Prunerov to be completely shut down until 2015.
Land-use permit and timed commission controversies
The legal battle started by the Czech environmentalists began in 2008, but property owners are now challenging the land-use permit issued in March 2011, due to the fact that local property owners weren’t allowed to participate in the negotiations. Indeed, some property owners from surrounding areas had applied to take part in the land-use hearings, and this right was denied because it was ruled they were not “affected enough by the renovations”. Petr Neubauer, head of the group "Chomutov pod poklickou CEZ" and living 5km from the plant, stated that “The Czech Republic generates a lot of electricity, but a lot of it is being sent to different countries. … My question is why are we destroying our country for this?”
In exchange for allowing CEZ to implement the construction plan of the Prunerov II power plant, the Environment Ministry said CEZ would have to reduce its emissions in other elements of their company in the 25-year period that Prunerov II will be running. CEZ adopted a so-called “compensation plan”, approved last October, which includes closing Prunerov I in 2019 instead of 2023. Activists nevertheless consider that the firm is “cheating the system”: Prunerov I was indeed originally planned to close in 2016.
You can find the Chomutov-petition in the last link below.
http://english.arnika.org/about-ushttp://www.praguepost.com/business/8186-villagers-environmentalists-fight-plant.html
http://www.cvppc.tym.cz/petice.htm
From 2008, lawyers of the Environmental Law Services (ELS) - a Czech public interest NGO - in a common action with Greenpeace and the local group “Chomutov pod poklickou”, has been running a campaign to cancel the project renewing entirely Prunerov.
Joint action
From 2008, lawyers of the Environmental Law Services (ELS) - a Czech public interest NGO - in a common action with Greenpeace and the local group “Chomutov pod poklickou”, has been running a campaign to cancel the project renewing entirely Prunerov.
Greenpeace's activism
Greenpeace also opposes the plan of modernization, demanding for the Czech Republic to assess the effects of CEZ’s pollution.
On March 22, 2010, twelve Greenpeace activists climbed the 300 meter-high chimney of the Prunerov II station, and hung a banner reading “SHAME”. They left two days later. Following the action, the Environment Minister, who previously refused to negotiate with Greenpeace, accepted to meet with them.
Their goal is to shut Prunerov by 2015 and to implement new energy efficiency measures and investments in order to replace it with renewable energy. Jan Rovensky, a Czech Greenpeace member, shouted from the top of the chimney: "So will the Czech Republic's global shame become a global example. Plans to extend Prunerov make a mockery of efforts to protect the environment, people, and avoid catastrophic global climate change."
Greenpeace is not the only international environmental NGO that expresses deep concerns about Prunerov. Indeed, WWF released in May 2007 a report asserting very similar conclusions.
http://www.climateimc.org/fr/node/6683
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