What will be the impact of the transposition of the Industrial Emissions Directive into the Czech legislation? Regulatory Impact Assessment of the comprehensive amendment to the Air Protection Act is based on modelling economic impacts on a representative sample of medium-sized heating plants.

The study dealt with modelling of economic impacts of transposition of the Industrial Emissions Directive (2010/75/EU) on a selected sample of medium-sized district heating plants (capacity from 110 to 214 MWt). The plants were selected to best represent the actual structure of district heating facilities in the Czech Republic that may potentially use the transition period for district heating plants. The analysis included both plants complying with emission parameters corresponding to best available techniques (BAT) and those facing fundamental upgrades. On the whole, we modelled 8 plants: 4 brown coal, 2 black coal and 2 gas-fuelled plants.

The analysis showed that inability to apply the exemption would be felt the most in older brown coal facilities, where the obligation to comply with emission limits at the level of best available techniques would lead to a jump increase in the heat price by CZK 58/GJ on average (which is a 10% increase in the heat price), with average investment costs around CZK 400 million per plant. The study evaluated this impact as potentially significant in synergy with other adverse impacts registered on the sector in the study period. The impact modelling used our own SimTool microeconomic model.

Conclusions of the project:

The outcomes were incorporated in the Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) of the draft for a comprehensive amendment to the Air Protection Act, followed by an application of a transition period in the wording of the Act.

Research team: Ondřej Vojáček, Ladislav Sobotka, Radko Kříž

In cooperation with e-academia.eu, s.r.o.