Large combustion plants operating in Europe

Which European Union Member States have the highest number of large combustion plants?

Trends in installed capacity

LCPs are not distributed evenly across Europe, and a few countries dominate in terms of total fuel input and operating capacity. In 2014, four countries — Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom — contributed 53 % of total operating capacity (Fig. 4). In these four countries, the installed capacity is heavily dominated by LCPs of the largest capacity class. For example in Germany, 75 % of installed capacity is from plants with a capacity of > 500 MWth. Within operating capacity classes, Germany had the highest operating capacity within the 50-100 MWth (17 % of EU-28 total), 101-300 MWth (20 %) and > 500 MWth (22 %) classes in 2014. Italy was responsible for 19 % of operating capacity within the 301-500 MWth class. Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal and Slovenia each contributed less than 1 % of the total operating capacity.

Trends in fuel input

Germany, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom contributed 62 % of total fuel input (Fig. 5). In 2014, Germany reported the largest fuel input for other solid fuels (32 % of EU-28 total) and other gases (26 %). The United Kingdom reported the largest natural gas input (24 % of EU-28 total) and liquid fuels input (33 %), and Poland the largest biomass input (15 %). Both Finland and Sweden report large amounts of biomass input (together 28 % of EU-28 total), but less than 2 % of the EU-28 fuel consumption for total fuels.  Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Slovenia, Slovakia and Sweden each contributed less than 1 % of total fuel consumption.

Indicator definition

This indicator provides a profile of the number of LCPs operating in Europe, their installed capacity and the mix of fuels they use. It is based on data from 2004 onwards. The geographical coverage comprises the EU-28 countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom).

The temporal coverage is 2004-2016 (the most recent year with officially reported emissions; EEA, 2018a).

Units

The units used in this indicator are:

Total fuel consumption, measured in terajoules (TJ) per year or gigajoules (GJ) per year.

Rated thermal input, measured in megawatt thermal (MWth) or gigawatt thermal (GWth).

Policy context and targets

Context description

The EU has had a policy on emissions from combustion plants since the 1980s. Between 2004 and 2013, two pieces of EU law have been in place: the LCP Directive (EC, 2001) and the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (EC, 2008). EU law imposed specific emission limit values on emissions of NO_x, SO₂ and dust from plants with a thermal rated input equal to or greater than 50 MW. Since 1 January 2016, this legislation has been replaced by the Industrial Emissions Directive (IED) (EC, 2010).

The aim of the EU policy on LCPs is to reduce emissions to air, water and land — including measures related to waste — in order to achieve a high level of protection of the environment as a whole. The focus for LCPs is to reduce their emissions of acidifying pollutants, particles and ozone precursors.

Legal instruments that address emissions from large combustion plants

Emissions from LCPs are subject to several EU-wide regulations:

• The LCP Directive (EC, 2001): this sets emission limit values for SO₂, NO_x and dust from combustion plants with a rated thermal input of 50 MW or more.
• The IED (EC, 2010): IED permits take an integrated approach to the whole environmental performance of plants. For LCPs and several other activities, the IED sets emission limit values for SO₂, NO_x and dust. Permit conditions, including emission limit values, are based on best available techniques (BATs). According to the IED, a site visit must take place at least every 1-3 years. On 1 January 2016, the IED replaced the LCP Directive.
• The European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) (EC, 2006a): plants with activities over certain thresholds must report to the E-PRTR on releases of pollutants, off-site transfers of waste and pollutants in wastewater, and releases of pollutants from diffuse sources.
  
  

Permit conditions, including emission limit values, must be based on BATs. BATs refer to the most effective, and economically and technically viable methods of operation that reduce emissions and impact on the environment.

To define BATs, the European Commission organises an exchange of information between Member State experts, industry and environmental organisations. This process results in the production of BAT reference documents (BREFs). Each BREF contains information on the techniques and processes used in a specific industrial sector in the EU, current emission and fuel consumption trends, and techniques to consider for the determination of BATs, as well as emerging techniques.

A BREF for LCPs was adopted in July 2006 (EC, 2006b). It contains information on BATs for energy generation, combustion techniques from various fuel types, and processes and techniques for reducing emissions, including noise.

Targets

No target specified.

Related policy documents

• Directive 2001/80/EC, large combustion plants
  Directive 2001/80/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2001 on the limitation of emissions of certain pollutants into the air from large combustion plants
• Directive 2008/1/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2008 concerning integrated pollution prevention and control
  IPPC (newly recoded) Directive 2008/1/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 January 2008 concerning integrated pollution prevention and control. (see earlier code 96/61/EC)
• Directive 2010/75/EC on industrial emissions
  Directive 2010/75/EC on industrial emissions (integrated pollution prevention and control) The IED is the successor of the IPPC Directive and in essence, it is about minimising pollution from various industrial sources throughout the European Union. Operators of industrial installations operating activities covered by Annex I of the IED are required to obtain an integrated permit from the authorities in the EU countries. About 50.000 installations were covered by the IPPC Directive and the IED will cover some new activities which could mean the number of installations rising slightly.
• Reference Document on Best Available Techniques (BREF) for Large Combustion Plants
  Reference Document on Best Available Techniques (BREF) for Large Combustion Plants
• Reference Document on Best Available Techniques (BREF) for Large Combustion Plants
  Reference Document on Best Available Techniques (BREF) for Large Combustion Plants
• Regulation (EC) No 166/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 January 2006 concerning the establishment of a European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register
  Regulation (EC) No 166/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 January 2006 concerning the establishment of a European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register

Methodology

Methodology for indicator calculation

Queries are applied to the LCP database (EEA, 2017a) for the calculations necessary in this analysis. For each plant, total fuel consumption (a sum of fuel consumption from all fuel types) and capacity class (based on a plant's rated thermal input (MWth)) are calculated. Plants are grouped into five capacity classes: > 500 MWth, 301-500 MWth, 101-300 MWth, 50-100 MWth and < 50 MWth. The last of these (< 50 MWth) is excluded from this indicator.

Methodology for gap filling

For the earlier years in the time series, some plants had missing MWth capacity data. Where possible, the MWth from an adjacent year’s reporting for that plant was used to gap fill. 

Methodology references

No methodology references available.

Uncertainties

Methodology uncertainty

This indicator covers the EU-28 countries. However, there are no data for Croatia for 2004-2009. Croatia data have not been gap-filled; in the years for which data for Croatia have been reported, the data account for less than 1 % of total EU-28 emissions and fuel consumption. This is, therefore, considered to cause only a minor distortion of the overall trend.

Data sets uncertainty

Although the reporting requirements began in 2004, it is possible that the data for the first reported period (2004-2006) contain some gaps.

Rationale uncertainty

No uncertainty has been specified.