The Dolna Odra gas-fired power plant is a 1.4GW combined-cycle power project to replace the existing 1.36GW Dolna Odra coal-fired power station in the Western Pomerania region of Poland.

PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna, a subsidiary of state-run power group Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE) is the owner and operator of the project.

Although the new facility was originally planned to be developed with two 500MW gas-fired units, it was decided to increase the capacity of each unit to 700MW in 2019.

The engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for the £950m ($1.25bn) project was awarded in January 2020.

Scheduled for commissioning in 2024, the Dolna Odra gas-fired power plant is expected to generate enough electricity for approximately one million Polish households with lesser greenhouse gas emissions.

Location and site details 

The gas-fired power station is being developed in a site adjacent to the existing Dolna Odra coal-fired power generating facility located at Nowe Czarnowo near Gryfino in the West Pomeranian Province of Poland. 

The Dolna Odra gas-fired power plant make-up 

The Dolna Odra gas-fired power station will comprise two combined-cycle units of 700MW capacity each.

Each generating unit will be equipped with one 9HA.01 gas turbine, one STF-D650 steam turbine and one heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) from GE.

The GE 9HA.01 air-cooled gas turbine is designed to operate at 50Hz frequency with a net efficiency of up to 63% and an emission rate below 0.35 tonnes of CO2/ MWh in combined-cycle configuration. The rated output of the turbine is 397MW in single-cycle operation and its ramp rate is 60MW/min.

The STF-D650 steam turbine consists of a high pressure (HP), an intermediate pressure (IP) and a double flow low pressure (LP) section. The turbine is designed to operate at 185 bar steam pressure and 600ºCelsius steam temperature.

Gas supply for the Dolna Odra power plant

The Dolna Odra power plant is planned to receive gas supply through a 63km-long gas pipeline connecting the existing gas infrastructure of the Polish gas transmission system operator GAZ-System. The 700mm-diametre connector pipeline will pass through the Przelewice, Pyrzyce, Kozielice, Banie, Gryfino, and Widuchowa municipalities in the West Pomeranian Province.

The feed-gas pipeline for the power plant will have a maximum operating pressure of 8.4mpa and it will be connected with the existing Szczecin–Lwówek pipeline for sourcing natural gas from the Świnoujście LNG terminal, which has been operational since 2015.

It is also planned to be connected to the proposed Goleniów–Lwówek section of the Baltic Pipe project, which is a 900km natural gas pipeline project intended to supply gas from the Norwegian gas system in the North Sea to Poland, via Denmark.

GAZ-System and PGE Górnictwo i Energetyka Konwencjonalna signed a contract for the gas connection infrastructure for the Dolna Odra power plant in March 2020. The gas connection project will also involve a 250,000m3/h gas station. 

Contractors involved 

A consortium of General Electric (GE) and the Polish engineering construction company Polimex Mostostal was awarded a £730m ($960m) engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for the Dolna Odra combined-cycle gas-fired power project in January 2020.

The scope of the contract also includes a maintenance agreement for a period of 12 years.

Energoprojek-Warszawa was engaged for the feasibility study of the project in 2018, while Energoprojekt-Katowice, the investment partner for the project, engaged GFKK for the preparation of tender and contract documents.

PGNiG Gazoprojekt was engaged for the design documentation for the gas connection project for the Dolna Odra power plant.

Dolna Odra coal-fired power station 

The Dolna Odra coal-fired power station was originally developed with eight coal-fired units including two 215MW units, three 222MW units and three 232MW units commissioned between 1974 and 1977. The two 215MW units were retired in 2012 and 2014.

The power station was developed with three flue gas stacks standing 250m, 200m and 170m tall respectively. The power station was fitted with a wet limestone-based flue gas desulphurisation (FGD) unit in 2002.

The six operating units of the power station generate electricity and heat for individual, industrial and municipal customers in Gryfino.