Heating powered by waste against cold radiators - Kirka-suri builds units for production of energy from biomass and communal waste

Kirka-suri, Belgrade-based factory of boilers and power equipment, is going to launch two new projects - steam power plants-heating plants powered by biomass and communal waste. Several municipalities and companies in Serbia have already expressed interest in these plants, which will be providing electricity and heating energy under favorable conditions and will be built in the countries of the European Union according to the "turn key" principle.

Serbia has the potentials of renewable energy sources that could replace 3.6m tons of oil per year, 2.6m tons of which can be replaced with the various forms of biomass that decays unused in forests and on cultivated fields. Wooden waste and agricultural waste (hay, sunflower seed shells, corn remains...) may be used for the production of electricity and heating energy in so-called steam power plants-heating plants powered by biomass.

- We will soon commence the construction of steam power plants-heating plants powered by biomass, which will be built in partnership with municipalities. These plants will be producing electricity that will be purchased by our state under favorable conditions, while hot water will be obtained as a by-product. The heating energy will be offered to municipalities, that is, heating plants, at competitive prices so that the amount of fees for heating services will be up to 30% lower than the current social price, that is, 50% cheaper than the commercial price that will be adopted sooner or later – Sinisa Janjusevic, the Marketing and Sales Manager at Kirka-suri, says in an interview for eKapija.

He points out that, in such partnership, municipalities should enable easier issuing of permits and locations for construction and get cheaper heating energy in return.

- When a large number of heating plants owe money for the procurement of gas, such form of procurement of heating energy is much more profitable – says Janjusevic and adds that this investment returns in 3 to 4 years.

The value of such steam power plant-heating plant depends on the capacities, while, for example, an investment in a steam power plant of 1 MW ranges between 4 and 5 million euros.

Janjusevic says that Kirka-suri is currently negotiating with several municipalities and that no special conditions need to be met for the construction of such plants powered by biomass, except for the fact that the location has to be in the vicinity of the heating plant.

Steam power plants for burning trash

- We are also building steam power plants-heating plants powered by communal waste according to the "turn key" system and they produce electric and heating energy by burning waste materials, which are previously sorted in special units – says Janjusevic.

He says that these plants are more expensive than steam power plants powered by biomass and that the price is 3-4 times higher.

- Communal waste, although a renewable source of energy, is not a clean source of energy as biomass. The construction of a steam power plant powered by communal waste also requires the construction of additional units for filtering toxic smoke gases created in the burning process.

Kirka-suri provides the full service - from the preparation of a preliminary project and energy feasibility study for the economically best solution, through the production and installation of equipment, to the maintenance of the plant. The company exists for 21 years and, in addition to the presence in the market of Serbia, it is export-oriented toward the markets of former Yugoslav republics, Ukraine, Russia, Bulgaria, Romania, etc.