ORLEN Południe, a company from the ORLEN Group, together with PGNiG submitted an application to the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection to establish a special purpose vehicle that will invest in the development of a network of modern bio-methane plants. ORLEN Południe has already acquired three installations, most recently in the Jeżewo commune in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodship. From agricultural, waste substrates and residues from the processing industry, they will be used to produce environmentally friendly biomethane, used in industry or energy. The implementation of the biogas program is in line with the ORLEN2030 strategy, assuming the development of low- and zero-emission energy.
Biomethane is biogas produced from renewable energy sources, with the parameters of natural gas. It is produced by purifying biogas from sulfur compounds and carbon dioxide. It can be used for transport or as fuel for the production of biohydrogen.
We run a modern business that enables the sustainable development of the entire ORLEN Group. These activities include, among others the biogas program ORLEN Południe, which the company is dynamically developing by acquiring more biogas plants. This project is of great importance for the ORLEN Group, strengthening its competences in the field of renewable energy, as well as for the Polish economy and national energy security. It is also an example of business synergies that can be gained after the acquisition of the PGNiG Group – says Daniel Obajtek, President of the Management Board of PKN ORLEN.
The cooperation between ORLEN Południe and PGNiG, as part of the biogas program, is to be based primarily on the acquisition and construction of biogas installations, the development of technologies used for the production of biomethane, as well as the production and use of biomethane in various areas of the companies’ operations. The investments would be carried out by a special purpose vehicle established by ORLEN Południe and PGNiG, in which ORLEN Południe would have 51 percent, and PGNiG – 49 percent. shares.
The application for the establishment of the company has already been submitted to the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection. This means the formal initiation of cooperation between ORLEN Południe and PGNiG. Positive consideration of the application by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection will enable the further implementation of the biogas program, in accordance with the adopted assumptions.
The 1.8 MWe installation in Jeżewo, purchased by ORLEN Południe, was commissioned in 2014 and currently produces electricity for the local market. The source of biogas produced in it, which is characterized by a high content of biomethane, is liquid and semi-liquid waste substrates from the food industry and animal husbandry.
ORLEN Południe plans to expand the plant by 2024 with additional fermentation tanks, which will increase the plant’s capacity to 3.2 MWe. On the other hand, its retrofitting with devices and installations for the conversion of biogas into biomethane and connection to the network will enable the production of approx. 8 million m3 of biomethane per year.
Together with the biogas plant, the company took over a waste treatment plant with a processing capacity of 150,000 m3. tonnes of waste per year, including approx. 15.5 thousand. tons of slaughterhouse waste. Having its own waste treatment plant distinguishes the facility in the Jeżewo commune on the Polish biogas market.
In December last year, ORLEN Południe acquired a working biogas plant in Konopnica, in the Rawa Mazowiecka commune. In January, he purchased two plots of land in the Ryn commune, where he has already started work related to the construction of his own installation. In March, he finalized the purchase of an agricultural biogas plant in Wojny-Wawrzyńce, in the Szepietowo commune. The company plans to expand these installations and transform them into biomethane plants producing biomethane, which would be injected into the distribution network and potentially used to produce green hydrogen.
Date of publication: 2 July 2021
