The construction
of Unit B3 in the Thermal Power Plant Kostolac B, with a capacity of 350 MW,
was the greatest energy investment project in our country over the last few
decades, and all construction phases from design to commissioning were
presented during the second day of the Power Plants 2025 conference.
After more than
30 years, Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) has built a new, modern and highly
efficient thermal power unit, and since December last year, when the Taking
Over Certificate was signed, until the end of September, this Unit has produced
more than two million megawatt-hours. The project for the construction of Unit B3
with investments in increasing production at the Open-Cast Mine Drmno was EUR
715.6 million.
- During
construction of Unit B3, we were faced with many challenges, and we
successfully overcame all of them, but the most important thing is that we
achieved our goals: the unit has a capacity of 350 megawatts, meets all strict
European environmental standards, all Performance Tests were executed and high
efficiency was proven. During the construction, 120,000 cubic meters of
concrete, 2,500 piles, 60,000 tons of steel structure were embedded, and there
were more than 4,000 workers on the construction site – said Željko Lazović,
construction manager of Unit B3.
He particularly
pointed out that the obtaining of use permits for all systems is coming to an
end and that an application for obtaining an integrated permit for Unit B3 will
soon be submitted.
Marko Plavšić from the EPS Sector for Investments and
one of the site managers in charge of the main power building, presented the
course of testing and quality control of equipment in the equipment production
phase, and it is crucial that all required standards, both Serbian and
international, were met. He pointed out that the Nikola Tesla Institute was in
charge of quality control of generators, the
Department of Steam Turbines and the Department of Materials from the Faculty
of Mechanical Engineering in Belgrade were in charge of the turbine and steam
boiler. SGS controlled the production at the manufacturer's facilities.
- More than 320
equipment manufacturers were controlled, including 280 in 70 cities in China.
During the commissioning of equipment and plants, 74 commissioning procedures
were executed – said Plavšić.
Darko Šarić, who
was also one of the managers for the project, pointed out the characteristics
of Unit B3, as well as the importance of this type of generator for the entire
power system: representatives of Energoprojekt Entel spoke about their
experiences as FIDIC engineers, representatives of the Vinča Institute about Performance
Tests of the boiler and mills and emission measurements, and experts from the
Nikola Tesla Institute about the generator tests.
