District Heating Development, Air Quality Improvement, and Cogeneration in Krakow, Poland
Written by Henry Manczyk, administrator of building operations for the County of Monroe, Rochester, New York, and a member of the board of directors of the Rochester District Heating Cooperative, and Michael D. Leach, senior administrative analyst in the City of Rochester, Bureau of Engineering, and a member of the Krakow-Rochester Sister Cities Committee.
Krakow, Poland, is served by a district heating system that includes coal-fired electrical and heating plants and distribution networks and by approximately 200,000 residential coal furnaces.
Cogeneration facilities were added in the mid-1970s to supply up to 40% of the regional peak electrical demand and to optimize energy extraction from the low-heating-value coal mined in the region.
Several difficulties prevent the district from realizing the potential efficiencies of its technology - the poor condition of the distribution network, the lack of consumption control and metering devices, inadequate plant maintenance, and the lack of economic incentives for operator productivity and energy conservation by users.
Environmental concerns have caused the local government and international agends to plan major improvements to the system.
This paper discusses the development of the district heating system, coal use in Poland, cogeneration facilities, environmental concerns and pollution control plans, and improvement strategies.