Plomin C Thermal Power Plant

Plomin C Thermal Power Plant is a proposed 500 megawatt (MW) coal-fired power station. HEP Proizvodnja has proposed that the €800 million plant be located at the site of the existing Plomin Power Station at Plomin, Croatia. (RWE Power, a subsidiary of the German headquartered power company RWE, is in a joint venture with HEG for the Plomin B or Plomin 2 plant). The proposed plant is opposed by environmentalists.

Background
The first generating unit at the existing power station, referred to as Plomin 1, is a 110 MW unit which was commissioned in 1969. HEP is proposing that a new 500MW unit replace the aging Plomin 1 plant.

Opposition to project
The Croatian environmental group, Zelena akcija (Green Action) has objected to the government's support for the project. It argues that the Croatia's Physical Planning Strategy states that only a 125 megawatt gas power plant could be built at the site but that the Construction and Physical Planning Ministry had designated the Plomin C expansion as the "reconstruction of the complex Plomin facility." Toni Vidan from Green Action warned that the Ministry's decision set a dangerous precedent "which any investor can abuse and completely sidestep existing restrictions in physical planning documents."

In mid-June 2012 the Croatian Ministry of Spatial Planning and Construction approved HEP's Environmental Impact Assessment on the project. Bernard Ivcic, the President of Zelena akcija which is also the Croatian affiliate of Friends of the Earth, wrote that:


 * "The spatial plan for Istria county, where the plant would be situated, says that if a new unit is built at Plomin, the total capacity of the units together must not exceed 335 MW. As the existing Plomin II unit has a capacity of 210 MW and the 120 MW Plomin I plant is to be closed, this means that any new plant at the site cannot have a capacity larger than 125 MW. The spatial plan further states that any third unit at Plomin must run on gas, not coal."


 * "While the first two points are left aside due to lack of binding legal obligations and a clear sustainable long-term vision for Croatia's energy system, the Ministry of Spatial Planning and Construction has a clear duty to point out the last issue through its representative on the EIA commission, but it has not."

Ivcic also wrote that "building one plant of 500 MW means that the country will be unable to meet EU 2050 climate goals of 80-95 percent CO2 reductions compared to 1990, and will stifle the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency."

The Croatian Green Party, Zelena Lista, has also expressed opposition to the project.

HEP calls for expressions of interest, but RWE baulks
In September 2012 HEP announced that it had received seven expression of interest from companies interested in the construction and operation of the proposed Plomin C plant. HEP announced that "by September 28, HEP will draw a list of potential partners who will be invited to submit binding bids by the end of this year. The selection of the Strategic Partner will be made in accordance with published criteria, with particular regard to the level of participation of domestic companies in the project."

While RWE would have been a prime candidate for participation in the project, RWE announced that it had decided not to submit an expression of interest. The company stated that this decision "is mainly founded by adjustments in RWE’s strategy regarding the structure of its European power plant portfolio and current capital constraints ... RWE expressed its interest to support the project as owner’s engineer of HEP, by operation and maintenance of the plant and with regard to fuel procurement and power sales." HEP is planning to finalise the preferred project partner by mid-March 2013.

On the same day that the expressions of interest closed, the Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic endorsed the project as being important as Croatia "imports HRK 15 billion worth of electricity a year, which is wasteful."

Legal/PR advisors
The global legal and PR firm Hunton & Williams announced in August 2012 that it had been appointed to "advise on an international tender for the design, engineering, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of" the Plomin C project. The company stated that Kirk Lovric and Ryan Ketchum will be advising HEP from the firm's London office. The company boasted that the project was the latest in a string of work on coal-power projects in Europe.

Project Details
Sponsor: HEP Proizvodnja Location: Plomin, Croatia Capacity: 500 megawatts Type: Supercitical Finance: The project has been estimated to cost €800 million. Projected in service: 2018 Status: Proposed. Expressions of interest sought from potential joint venture partners. Partner scheduled to be selected in March 2013.

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * Europe and coal

External resources

 * Ekonerg, "Non-technical summary of the Environmental Impact Assessment Study of TPP Plomin reconstruction – replacement of existing TPP Plomin 1 aiming at modernization and capacity increase", HEP, May 2011.
 * HEP, "Notification of Requests for Expressions of Interest", HEP, July 2012.
 * The Government of the Republic of Croatia, "Starting a New Investment Cycle in the Republic of Croatia in the mandate 2012-2015 -projects background-", March 2012.