Polish utilities’ biomass burn drops in 4Q24

Spanish Market: Biomass
16/04/25

Polish electricity and heat producers PGE, Energa and Tauron reduced their biomass-fired power generation in the fourth quarter, according to their end of year reports, released this week.

Poland's largest power producer, PGE, consumed 207,000t of biomass in the fourth quarter, down from 233,000t a year earlier, it said on 15 April. PGE's biomass use across the whole of 2024 fell to 709,000t from 776,000t in 2023, with the decrease attributed to lower demand for heat because of warmer weather.

PGE burns wood chips, agricultural biomass and wood pellets at its 73MW Szczecin combined heat and power (CHP) plant and at its smaller 7MW Kielce CHP unit.

PGE said it is planning to build two new biomass-fired boilers at its 110MW coal-fired Gdynia CHP plant in northern Poland, as part of its plans to switch away from coal. The new boilers will have 30MW of thermal energy capacity combined, and PGE expects to start construction later in the second quarter.

Polish state-controlled utility Energa also reported weaker biomass burn in the fourth quarter, with biomass consumption down to 16,000t from 22,000t a year earlier. But biomass use during the whole of 2024 was flat on the year, at 82,000t. The company predominantly burns wood pellets at its 25MW Elblag CHP plant, and plans to increase pellet co-firing with coal at its Ostroleka plant from 2026.

State-controlled utility Tauron recorded a further reduction in biomass-fired power generation in the fourth quarter, in line with a trend seen throughout 2024, the company said on 16 April. Tauron generated 40GW of electricity on an average hourly basis in October-December, down from 50GWh over the same period in 2023. Tauron generated 120GWh from biomass in 2024, compared with 200GWh a year earlier.

By Tomasz Stepien

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29/04/25

India’s TSPL starts up torrefied bio-pellet plant

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Japan’s Erex starts up biomass power plant in Vietnam

28/04/25

Japan’s Erex starts up biomass power plant in Vietnam

Tokyo, 28 April (Argus) — Japan's renewable energy developer Erex has started commercial operations at the 20MW Hau Giang biomass-fired power plant in Vietnam, the company announced on 25 April. The power plant in southern Vietnam's Hau Giang province is Erex's first biomass-fired generation project in the country and burns around 130,000 t/yr of rice husks. The electricity generated by the plant is sold under Vietnam's feed-in tariff (FiT) scheme. Erex aims to build up to 18 biomass-fired power plants in Vietnam following Hau Giang, and five plants in Cambodia. The company has started building two 50MW plants in northern Vietnam. These plants are expected to come on line by mid-2027 and burn wood residues. Erex also plans wood pellet production projects in southeast Asia, with up to 20 factories in Vietnam and several ones in Cambodia. The company's first wood pellet factory in Vietnam with a capacity of 150,000 t/yr has already started commercial production in late March. Erex's profits from projects in Vietnam and Cambodia are expected to grow rapidly and will account for more than half of its whole profits around 2030, according to the company. By Takeshi Maeda Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2025. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Japan’s palm kernel shell imports hit high in March

25/04/25

Japan’s palm kernel shell imports hit high in March

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Vietnam's wood pellet exports rise on year in January

21/04/25

Vietnam's wood pellet exports rise on year in January

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Vietnam wood pellet output capacity to rise: Correction

17/04/25

Vietnam wood pellet output capacity to rise: Correction

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