The power generation member companies of the MVM Group support the fulfillment of the Shareholder’s and strategic expectations as key, solid pillars (maintenance of nuclear capacity, dynamic increase of renewable capacities, a flexible portfolio, and regional growth) and contribute significantly to the profitability of the Group by providing stable and reliable, affordable electricity generation. The nuclear and fossil power plants as well as renewable power plants of the MVM Group (highlighting those larger than 10 MW) are summarised in the figure below (as at year-end 2021).
In 2021, the generation units of the MVM Group generated a total 20.3 TWh of electricity, accounting for 59.4% of the domestic power plant output. In 2021, the country's gross electricity demand was 46.92 TWh, so MVM Group's production accounts for 43% of that. About ~79% of this amount, 15.99 TWh, was generated by MVM Paks Nuclear Power Plant Ltd. and about ~17%, i.e. about 3.5 TWh, by the lignite-fired units of MVM Mátra Energy Ltd. The production of the Paks nuclear power plant was responsible for 34.07% of domestic gross electricity demand in 2021. By the end of the year, electricity generated on a renewable basis was ~900 GWh at group level, which is ~4.3% of the total amount generated. Due to our developments and the successful implementation of strategic actions, electricity generation by the MVM Group is already about ~83% carbon neutral.
The 11 flexible, high-efficiency gas turbines operated with the expected availability also in 2021, ensuring the continuous, uninterrupted operation of the Hungarian electricity system and the maintenance of its balance. The new name of MVM GTER Ltd. has been MVM Balance Ltd. since March 2021 due to the fact that the abbreviation of the gas turbine power plant (GTER) was not clear and did not cover the complex task currently performed by the company.
The district heating generation equipment of the MVM Group
continued to perform its tasks fully in 2021, in addition to meeting the heat
demand of local district heating providers, the cogeneration units also
performed their tasks arising from system-level balancing to a high
professional standard. The Miskolc Combined Cycle Power Plant restarted in 2020
has been operating reliably and, due to the upgrades carried out, is also able
to meet the more stringent EU environmental regulations in the longer term, in
addition to significantly improving its parameters required for system-level
balancing.
The first phase of the Renewable Programme was closed in 2020, the establishment of two installed photovoltaic power plants with a capacity of over 0.5 MW (41 MW in total) and 108 ones with a capacity of less than 0.5 MW was completed, and their integration has begun. In addition, the renewable portfolio of the Group continued to expand through acquisitions also in 2021, so MVM Green Generation Ltd. now has a total of 184.23 MW of installed solar power capacity (a 11.21% increase compared to 2020), which, with their annual power output of about 259 GWh, increased their output by about 25% compared to 2020.
The acquisition of Tisza Water Hydropower Plant Ltd. was completed in 2021 (as of 1 December 2021, the new name of the company is MVM Hydropower Plant Energy Ltd. which is a subsidiary of MVM Green Generation Ltd.), due to which two new hydropower plants were added to the MVM Group in addition to its three already operating hydropower plants (sites in Romania), so the installed hydropower capacity of the MVM Group already exceeds 50 MW. The acquired company exploits the highly predictable, renewable hydropower of the second largest river of Hungary, the River Tisza, to generate electricity. One of them is the Kisköre Hydropower Plant, which has been operating since 1974 and is the largest hydropower plant in Hungary with an installed capacity of 28 MW. The other is the Tiszalök Hydropower Plant, which has been available with an installed capacity of 12.9 MW since 1959, making it is the second largest hydropower plant in Hungary. In 2021, the MVM Group took another big step to diversify its controllable renewable portfolio and to increase the share of carbon-neutral electricity generation.