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The project was screened B/1, requiring an environmental analysis and an audit.
The aim of the project is to improve the efficiency and load capability of two (out of ten) identical 300 MW units of Uzbekistan's largest fossil-fuelled power station. The units were commissioned between 1972 and 1981 and cannot be operated at design capacity due to design flaws and component deterioration.
Rehabilitation of the turbines, modifications to the cooling system, and improvements to the water treatment plant will increase efficiency by approximately 10 per cent, bringing the units close to design capacity and extending their residual life to approximately 15 years. The improvements will result in a more efficient use of fuel, and therefore reduced specific air emissions per unit of electricity generated.
The audit showed that the environmental performance of the power station was generally good. Air emissions and discharges of industrial water (predominantly cooling water) were generally in compliance with national and World Bank standards. Some temporary non-compliances occurred during periods with high use of mazut as a back-up fuel when gas was not available. The power station has tested modifications to burners which resulted in markedly lower NOx emissions when gas is used. This development programme is to be continued, with a view to implement this technology once it has proven to be reliable.
One aspect of waste storage at the power station, i.e. storage of oil sludge, will be improved, and a small area affected by an oil spill will be cleaned up. This has been incorporated into an Environmental Action Plan, which the Bank requires to be undertaken as a condition of the loan.
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