The National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management (NFOŚiGW) observes the growing demand for installations for the management of the calorific fraction of waste in installations for the thermal processing of waste from municipal waste (with the generation of heat energy in cogeneration). With this in mind, the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management offers financial support for projects aimed at modernization of local heat sources in the context of the possibility of waste incineration within the framework of the modification of the „Rational Waste Management” programme.
The use of heat from waste, where there is an infrastructure allowing for year-round use of the produced heat energy, is in line with the idea of a „closed-loop economy” (GOZ) and is a kind of „closure” of the municipal waste management system.
According to current estimates, approximately 30 million tonnes of fuel from waste is stored in Poland. This energy potential of alternative fuels (RDF) could be used successively by district heating networks, where there is an infrastructure allowing for year-round use of the produced heat energy.
At present, however, apart from the functioning of large plants processing thermally mixed municipal waste, located mainly near large urban centres (e.g. in Kraków), there are no small installations in Poland. A big disadvantage is also the lack of Polish producers of boilers who would have appropriate references for the implementation of the investments in question.
However, with the existing knowledge it is possible to create a domestic technological solution for a waste energy recovery plant (economically competitive in relation to foreign proposals offered on the market).
The construction of several demonstration plants of this type would make it possible to obtain references useful for undertaking investment activities even in several dozen locations in Poland. However, preferential financial support would be necessary for the implementation of investments to be adjusted to the level of expectations and investment possibilities of local budgets.
Ultimately, small installations for heat and energy recovery from RDF (cheap and based on national know-how) should be built in Poland without any subsidy support. Once exemplary installations have been built, the replication of best practice throughout the country could be carried out without financial support from the budget and with the participation of private or local investors.