Energy Self-Sufficient Swimming Pool: Tychy Aquapark in Poland Uses Three Biogas-Fired Cogeneration Power Plants to Cover Entire Heat and Power Demand from Renewable Sources
Mannheim, April 13, 2022
Polish MWM distributor Centrum Elektroniki Stosowanej CES Sp. z o.o. has installed three biogas cogeneration power plants for Wodny Park Tychy in Poland. Since the aquapark opened in 2018, it has already been expanded. A special feature of the aquapark is that it is energy self-sufficient, and all energy for the power supply and for heating the pools comes from renewable sources. Additionally, the excess heat is sold to the public heat grid.
Energy Self-Sufficiency with Three Biogas-Fired Cogeneration Power Plants with MWM Gas Engines
The owner of Wodny Park, RCGW S.A. (Regional Center for Water and Wastewater Management) also operates a sewage treatment plant in Tychy, driven by three combined heat and power plants. The biogas for the aquapark is delivered through a 6-km biogas pipe from the sewage treatment plant. The sewage treatment plant in Tychy produces enough biogas to cover its own demand and that of the heat and power supply of the large aquapark.
In 2017, MWM Distributor Centrum Elektroniki Stosowanej CES Sp. z o.o. equipped the Tychy Aquapark with two MWM TCG 2016 V08 gas engines during the construction phase of the aquapark. The two engines each have an electrical output of 400 kW and a thermal output of 433 kW. The heat and power are used to cover the demand of the aquapark. Instead of being extracted via dry coolers, the low-temperature heat from the intercoolers is used entirely for heating the water in the competition pool. In this way, the energy is used as efficiently as possible, and energy losses are avoided. The combined heat and power (CHP) plant was also equipped with heat buffers that are loaded when the heat demand of the swimming pools is lower and discharged when the heat demand surpasses the CHP production. A 1.1-MWth biogas boiler was supplied for heat demand peaks. For emergencies, the aquapark is also connected to the public heat grid.
Flexible Operation of CHP Plants Enables Control of Biogas Utilization
After a few months of operation, it turned out that the sewage treatment plant produces enough biogas to install another engine. In 2019, Centrum Elektroniki Stosowanej CES Sp. z o.o. thus delivered an MWM TCG 3016 V08 gas engine with an electrical output of 400 kW and a thermal output of 428 kW to Wodny Park Tychy. All three CHP plants are suitable for parallel operation with the public power grid and for parallel operation with each other in island mode. The electrical energy generated in island mode is sufficient for the security operation of the swimming pools and the power supply of other areas such as the restaurant.
RCGW S.A., the owner of the sewage treatment plant and the aquapark in Tychy, is glad to have the three cogeneration power plants at the aquapark and the other three cogeneration power plants at the sewage treatment plant. In this way, RCGW S.A. is able to flexibly control the utilization of biogas by switching the cogeneration power plants on and off depending on the respective demand. As the aquapark is connected to the public heat grid, it is even possible to feed in and sell excess heat from the aquapark. Especially in the summer months, there is plenty of excess heat to sell; in 2020, for example, more than 5,000 GJ was sold.
Further information:
- Centrum Elektroniki Stosowanej CES Sp. z o.o. website
- MWM TCG 2016 V08 Gas Engine
- MWM TCG 3016 V08 Gas Engine
- MWM Gas Engines and Power Gensets
- MWM Cogeneration Power Plants
- MWM press release: Trigeneration System for International Manufacturer of Medical Products Fresenius Kabi in Poland: Two MWM TCG 2020 V12 Gas Engines Produce Heat, Power and Cold
- MWM press release: Modernization of CHP Plant in Polish Coal Mine: MWM TCG 2032 V16 Gas Engines Generate Energy from Mine Gas
