KECSKEMÉT: BIOMASSE POWER PLANT

Renewable energy for the city of Kecskemét.

The challenge

Faced with recurring energy problems, the city of Kecskemét wanted to integrate renewable energies into its district heating supply in order to boost security of supply and energy independence.

The project was commissioned by Termostar Ltd., a district heating provider, and was carried out in the southern industrial area of Kecskemét, Hungary.

Veolia’s solution

Veolia designed and built a 20+5 megawatt capacity renewable biomass power plant as part of a nearly 17 million Euro investment.

The heating plant is connected to the city's existing district heating system of Kecskemét and heat sources through an energy-efficient new district heating mainline, forming a unified energy system.

The fuel for the economical operation of the biomass heating plant can be sourced from the city's selectively collected urban green biomass, including woody stems, sunflower hulls, and wood by-products from the timber industry that cannot be utilized for other purposes.

The Benefits

• As a positive "side effect" of the project, the area of land that can be afforested around Kecskemét will increase by about ten percent, freeing up the area currently occupied by unused slaughterhouse residues left on the land.
• The industrial-scale power plant, which was inaugurated at the end of November 2023 and will produce 320,000 gigajoules of energy, contributes to the district heating needs of around 40,000 people.

This project fundamentally determines the future of Kecskemét. We selected the technology after conducting a very thorough studies, and we discussed at length all the elements of the project which may pose risks or could raise questions. The implementation started at the right moment when the energy questions became very relevant, since not a day goes by without having to facing energetic problems.

Ms Klaudia Pataki Szemereyné, The Mayor of Kecskemét

The successful implementation of this investment is a huge step forward for our company. It has proven that we are able to offer our partners quality solutions. In view of the global market trends, the construction of new power plants and the conversion of existing plants to more modern technologies will be a major challenge in the future. 

Zsolt FUTO, Veolia’s Business Unit Manager