Summary of the conference on heating modernization in the context of the requirements of the MCP Directive

The Malopolska in a healthy atmosphere conference – the elimination of low emission and the modernization of district heating in the context of the requirements of the MCP directive took place on March 3, 2017 at the AGH Center for Energy, 36 Czarnowiejska in Krakow.

The conference was attended by the representatives of a number of national and international HEIs, including the Polish Chamber of Commerce, the Regulatory Assistance Project, the heating companies in the Malopolska and Silesian Regions and the representatives of science.

There were more than 60 targets: the representatives of self-governments and district heating, the managers of heating systems (especially those based on solid fuels), ecomanagers and interested institutions.

The conference consisted of 3 parts:

  • A session presenting the strategic problems
  • A discussion panel entitled: MCP Directive and the vision of heating in 2030.
  • A technological session

During the session devoted to formal and strategic issues, the following spoke:

Janusz Cieszyński, Head of SMEs Department of the Ministry of Development, – Measures for the Heating Sector in Poland

Bogusław Regulski, Bogusław Regulski, the Vice President of the Polish Chamber of Commerce – Strategic Challenges for District Heating in the Context of the MCP Directive

Tomasz Pietrusiak, Deputy Director of the Environment Department, the Marshal’s Office of the Malopolska Region – Air Quality Plan for the Malopolska Region.

Wojciech Ignacok, the President of the Management Board of Geotermia Podhalańska – Experiences of Connecting Single-family Houses to the District Heating Networks of PEC Geotermia Podhalańska SA.

Jan Rączka, Regulatory Assistance Project – The Heating Sector in Poland – Conditions and Prospects.

The main point of the conference was the discussion panel on the MCP Directive and the vision of the heating sector in 2030. The introduction to the panel was the presentation by Janusz Mazur concerning the results of the research of district heating companies in the Malopolska Region.

Janusz Mazur – Strategic dilemmas of small and medium heating systems in the Malopolska Region – review of research results

The main discussion issue of this panel:

  • The heating sector and low emissions;
  • Limits of small remotely-operated systems;
  • Directions of changes – clean coal, cogeneration, flue gas cleaning or gas atomization?; –
  • Directions and opportunities for the development of the heating sector in small and medium cities – HUW, single-family houses,
  • Adsorption Chill – A Real Market or a Solution for the Next Generation?
  • Energy Efficient Heating System in big cities and the “handicapped” systems in the poviats of Poland,
  • Master Plans for the heating sector.

The panel conducted by Janusz Mazur was participated by:

  • Mateusz Klinowski, PhD, Mayor of the City of Wadowice,
  • Bogusław Regulski, Vice-President of the Polish Chamber of Commerce,
  • Jacek Boroń – President of the Management Board of Węglokoks Energia,
  • Edward Wypych – President of the Management Board of KZGM in Proszowice,
  • Andrzej Guła – President of the Krakow Smog Alert.

The last thematic block of the conference concerned the technological issues presented by the scientists of the AGH University of Science and Technology in Cracow and the Institute of Building Emission Certification:

Wojciech Nowak – Activities Planned by the AGH Center for Energy in support of air quality projects

Jan Górski – Market Offer for Small and Medium Cogeneration Systems in the Context of the Needs of the Heating Industry

Adolf Mirowski, PhD, the Institute of Building Emission Certification – The Role of Systemic Heating in the Fight against Low Emission of Pollutants

The issues discussed many times during the discussion included, among others:

  • There is a need for appropriate regulation at the national level to assist local governments in the fight against low emissions and to support heating companies, especially in small towns.
  • The formal – legal conditions for heating companies operating in heat and power plants in large cities (the so-called energy-efficient district heating systems) are much more advantageous than those for own heating facilities in small and medium-sized towns.
  • There is a need for the heating sector companies to carry out technological restructuring in order to comply with the requirements of the MCP Directive as well as provisions of the energy law concerning energy-efficient district heating system.
  • The MCP Directive is not a threat to the industry, but it can result in a slight increase in the prices of the heating plants that require modernization.
  • The heating sector can be an important partner in low emission reduction processes. Rapid legislative measures are needed to simplify construction procedures for linear investments (the “corridor law”) as well as improving the regulatory procedures for tariffs, removing public aid restrictions, or extending connection obligations.
  • There is a need for developing the ecological awareness of the public and promoting low-emission systemic heating as the ways to solve smog problems.
  • An effective fight against low emissions requires parallel actions aimed at reducing energy poverty.

A broader summary of the conference will be available in the closing report of the project which will primarily include research results and summaries (qualitative and quantitative) as well as recommendations based on the analysis of research and hearings during the panel discussion at the conference.

The conference was organized jointly by the Marshal’s Office of the Malopolska Region, the AGH Center for Energy and the Krakow Smog Alert and the Institute of Environmental Economics which initiated and commissioned qualitative and quantitative research carried out by Janusz Mazur, an expert in the heating sector.

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