Large combustion plants operating in Europe

Assessment versions

Published (reviewed and quality assured)

• No published assessments

Rationale

Justification for indicator selection

LCPs use large amounts of fuels, mostly fossil fuels, to produce useful forms of energy. These plants generate a number of residues and waste products, and large amounts of emissions to all environmental media. The aim of EU legislation on combustion plants (IED, Chapter III) is to reduce emissions of acidifying pollutants, particulate matter and ozone precursors. Emissions from LCPs constitute a large proportion of total anthropogenic emissions.

Analysing the capacity and fuel mix profile of the LCP sector can help explain and predict the environmental pressures it generates. These pressures are tracked in indicator IND002.

Scientific references

• No rationale references available

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, Czechia, 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).

In 2019, Luxembourg did not report any data for 2017. Only one facility was declared the previous year.

In the period 2004-2015, LCPs were covered by Directive 2001/80/EC, while in 2016 LCPs were subject to reporting in accordance with Directive 2010/75/EU. The scope of this latter directive is slightly wider and thus covers plants that were not subject to reporting before 2015.

The temporal coverage is the period 2004-2017 (latest dataset: LCP_database_v5.2).

Units

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

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

Policy context and targets

Context description

The EU has had policies on emissions from combustion plants since the 1980s. Between 2004 and 2015, two pieces of EU law were in place: the LCP Directive and the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (EC, 2010). This EU legislation 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 IED (EC, 2010).

The aim of EU policy on LCPs is to reduce emissions to air, water and land, including measures related to waste, to achieve a high level of protection of the environment as a whole. The focus with regard to LCPs is to reduce emissions of acidifying pollutants, particles and ozone precursors while also covering other environmental concerns (e.g. mercury emissions).

Legal instruments that address emissions from large combustion plants

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

• The IED (EC, 2010): IED permits are based on an integrated approach to overall environmental performance. For LCPs, and several other activities, the IED sets emission limit values for SO₂, NOx and dust. Permit conditions, including emission limit values, are based on best available techniques (BATs). The BAT reference document (BREF) and BAT conclusions on LCPs were published in 2017.
• The European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (E-PRTR) (EC, 2006a): plants with activities over certain thresholds must report releases of pollutants, off-site transfers of waste and pollutants in waste water, and releases of pollutants from diffuse sources to the E-PRTR.

Permit conditions including emission limit values must be based on BATs. The term ‘best available techniques’ refers to the most effective, and economically and technically viable methods of operation that reduce emissions and the 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 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 for the determination of BATs, as well as emerging techniques.

Targets

No target specified.

Related policy documents

• Best available techniques (BAT) conclusions for large combustion plants (published Aug 2017)
  Best available techniques (BAT) conclusions for large combustion plants (published August 2017)
• 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 (published Dec 2017)
  Reference Document on Best Available Techniques (BREF) for Large Combustion Plants (December 2017 published version)
• 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

The LCP database (LCP_database_v5.2) is used for the calculations 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 (in MWth)) are calculated. Plants are grouped into five capacity classes: >500 MWth (‘very large LCPs’), 301-500 MWth (‘large LCPs’), 101-300 MWth (‘medium-sized LCPs’), 50-100 MWth (‘small LCPs’) and <50 MWth. The last of these (<50 MWth) is excluded from this indicator.

Methodology for gap filling

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

Methodology references

No methodology references available.

Data specifications

EEA data references

• Reported data on large combustion plants covered by the Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EU) provided by Directorate-General for Environment (DG ENV) , European Environment Agency (EEA)

Data sources in latest figures

Uncertainties

Methodology uncertainty

Data sets uncertainty

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

Rationale uncertainty

No uncertainty has been specified.