Under the Environmental Management Act (Wet Milieubeheer), all medium-sized combustion plants must meet the emission requirements of the MCPD (European Directive for Medium-sized Combustion Plants) and the Dutch Activities (Environmental Management) Decree (Activiteitenbesluit). The requirements apply not only to new combustion plants, but also to boilers, engines and gas turbines.
Your supervisory authority may impose additional or more stringent requirements regarding the emissions of your combustion plant.
Flue gas measurements are carried out using calibrated equipment, in accordance with measurement procedures specified by SCIOS. The findings, including a “measurement declaration” are noted in the NOx survey report.
The work comprises:
- A “site review”, which involves a measurement plane evaluation prior to the actual measurement procedure.
- Performance of a profile measurement to demonstrate that the flue gases are homogeneously distributed at the location of the measurement plane.
- A traversal emission measurement. This measurement consists of three separate measurements in which the oxygen (O₂) and nitrogen (NOx) concentrations are measured at different points of the measurement plane and noted in the report.
- Creation of a report consisting of the project description, device data, measurement plane assessment, calibration gas data, traversal measurement values, final results of the measurements performed, relevant additional parameters.
- Signing off the system in the SCIOS portal and submitting a report including a Measurement Declaration.
Standard Fasel can perform all these tasks for you to ensure that your organisation complies with the requirements of the Activities (Environmental Management) Decree.
Regulatory changes
A number of changes have been made to the regulations regarding various emission requirements in recent years.
NOx emissions
As of 1 January 2017, all gas-fired boilers with a capacity ≥ 400 kW* must meet the NOx emissions requirement of ≤ 70mg/m03 and be equipped with a NOx emissions measurement system compliant with SCIOS Scope 6.
The measurement obligation was initially a one-time requirement, but legislation introduced in December 2018 now requires the measurement report to be less than 3 years old, meaning that the measurement procedure must be repeated periodically.
The effective date on which this measurement obligation must be met depends on the capacity and the delivery date of your system (see table).
| Category | Capacity* | Start date |
|---|---|---|
| Gas-fired systems installed on or after 20/12/2018 | > 1 MW | 20/12/2018 |
| Gas-fired systems installed before 20/12/2018 | 1 – 5 MW | 01/01/2025 |
| Gas-fired systems installed before 20/12/2018 | > 5 MW | 01/01/2030 |
*rated thermal input
Emission requirements for 50 – 100 MWth systems
Large combustion plants with a thermal capacity between 50 and 100 MWth are subject to a semi-annual measurement requirement for sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and total particulate (TSP).
The condition for this is that the registered emission-relevant parameters show that the equipment or technology used to reduce emissions is always in operation and that the emissions are lower than the emission limit value. With regard to sulphur dioxide (SO2), in certain cases the measurement may be replaced by a determination of total sulphur in the fuel.
Depending on your environmental permit, you may also be subject to a continuous measurement requirement.
The requirements valid from 17 August 2021 apply to systems that were put into operation before 14 June 2019.
