National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOSiGW) of Poland has approved more than PLN 101 million (€24 million) in financing for a new municipal biogas plant to be developed by waste-management company Eko Dolina, reports Bioenergy Insight.
The project, to be built at the company’s site in Leżyce in the northern Pomeranian province, is expected to cost more than PLN 140 million, NFOSiGW said. The financing package includes over PLN 45 million in grants and more than PLN 55 million in loans from the Modernisation Fund, under a programme designed to expand cogeneration capacity using municipal biogas.
The plant will be delivered through a “design and build” contract and will include a methane-fermentation unit capable of processing around 30,000 tonnes of bio-waste each year from nearby municipalities. The biogas produced will be used to generate electricity and heat through cogeneration. Excess electricity will be fed into the national grid, while the recovered heat will support the facility’s wastewater systems.
Eko Dolina’s chief executive, Damian Kleina, said the funding marks an important step in modernising the company’s infrastructure, improving waste-processing efficiency and increasing renewable-energy output in line with circular-economy goals.
The Modernisation Fund is financed through the sale of 4.5 percent of the EU’s carbon-emission allowances, with revenues managed by the European Investment Bank. Poland is expected to receive up to PLN 60 billion from the fund between 2021 and 2030.
