Veolia has set up Poland’s first high-efficiency cogeneration installation in Szlachęcin, recovering heat from wastewater and generating electricity. It’s the result of cooperation between Veolia and the local water and sewage company Aquanet. In the installation, heat is obtained from two sources simultaneously: from a heat pump, with the bottom source in sewage, powered by energy from high-efficiency cogeneration, and from the cogeneration system itself at the sewage treatment plant. Its electrical output is 1 MW, of which 700 kW is used to power the pump, while the surplus is fed into the national power electronics system. The entire system is designed to make maximum use of the heat contained in the wastewater and produce 20 GJ per year from this source. The heat, instead of escaping into the atmosphere as before, will be used to heat 5,000 inhabitants of Murowana Goślina. The new installation has partially replaced the traditional coal-fired heating plant currently operating in nearby Bolechów, thanks to which the entire system is 62% renewable energy. It also enabled CO2 emissions reduction by 5142 tonnes per year (a 54% reduction). In addition to reducing carbon dioxide emissions and coal consumption, the solution will also contribute to the reduction of sulphur dioxide emissions (-71%), nitrogen compounds (-56%) and dust into the atmosphere (-70%), as well as lowering the temperature of the wastewater, which after treatment is transferred to the Warta river.
