History
The Pécs power plant was commissioned in 1959. At the time, it was fuelled by coal mined in the surrounding region, first underground, then from open-pit mines. The plant was upgraded in the 1980s and some of the units were replaced. When Hungary joined the European Union in 2004, the company decided to stop using coal as a fuel. As a result, two of the four coal boilers were converted to gas and a third to biomass. The fourth was mothballed.
Earthworks
Construction of the coal-fired plant
Video interview of Attila Braun, Development Director, on the plant history:
The Pécs power plant was built in 1959 and fuelled by coal from the Mecsek mountain range. The district heating network dates from 1960 and has been continuously expanded in the years since. The plant is the sole provider of heat for the city of Pécs. The plant was modernized in the 1980s, but further upgrades became necessary when Hungary joined the European Union in 2004, in order to comply with the EU's extremely stringent environmental regulations. Consequently, the company was forced to weigh the options of pursuing coal-fired operations or switching to biomass supplemented with gas. After conducting an assessment of market conditions and the plant's technological potential, PannonPower opted for biomass.
Attila Braun, Development Director
Decommissioned open-pit mine