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Regulations governing combustion plants have evolved in recent years following the transposition of Directive 2015/2193 of November 25, 2015, known as the " MCP Directive ", which frames atmospheric emissions from medium-sized combustion plants with a rated thermal output of between 1 and 50 megawatts (MW). These installations = (gas boilers, oil boilers, biomass boilers, engines, gas turbines, etc.) emit air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur dioxide (SO2) and dust. We invite you to reread our article on the evolution of the MCP directive.
The MCP Directive requires France to submit information to the European Commission. To this end, an obligation for operators of medium-sized combustion plants to communicate administrative and technical data to the administration has been created by Decree no. 2018-1161 of November 18, 2018 [1] and the Order of January 2, 2019 [2]. We propose to present these obligations in detail.
CAM Directive: who is affected?
Operators of medium-sized combustion plants: these are plants with an output of between 1 MW and 50 MW, falling under headings 2910 and 3110 of the ICPE (Installations Classées pour la Protection de l'Environnement) nomenclature.
As a reminder, a combustion plant is defined as "any group of combustion appliances operated by the same operator and located on the same site (premises), unless the operator demonstrates that the appliances could not technically and economically be connected to a common chimney".
Note: For installations for which the initial declaration or authorization was granted before July 1, 1987, combustion appliances not connected to a common chimney may be considered as not being technically and economically suitable for connection to a common chimney.
What information is required?
The operator must provide the following information for each average combustion plant on the premises of his classified facility or establishment:
- the name and registered office of the operator and the address of the site where the plant is located,
- the rated thermal output of the average combustion plant, expressed in thermal MW,
- the type of medium combustion plant,
- the type and proportion of fuel used,
- the date and start of operation of the medium combustion plant or, where the date is unknown, proof that operation began before December 20, 2018,
- the sector of activity of the classified facility or the establishment in which it operates (NACE code),
- the expected number of operating hours (*) per year of the average combustion plant and the average operating load,
- if the combustion plant operates for less than 500 hours a year, in accordance with the conditions laid down in an order issued by the minister responsible for classified installations, a commitment not to exceed this maximum operating time (**).
(*) operating hours = period of time (expressed in hours) during which at least one of the plant's units is in operation and discharging emissions into the air, excluding start-up and shutdown phases.
(**) annual operating time = rolling average of operating hours calculated over a five-year period for existing plants (declared before December 20, 2018) and over a three-year period for new plants (declared on or after December 20, 2018).
When is this information required?
For installations commissioned before December 20, 2018, information must be sent :
- no later than December 31, 2023 for plants with a capacity of more than 5 MW,
- no later than December 31, 2028 for those with a power output of between 1W and 5MW.
For other facilities, this information must be provided at the planning stage, prior to authorization, registration or declaration.
How do you communicate them?
The operator must fill in a form for each facility. The information is then made available to the public on the Internet by the authorities.
In conclusion, if you operate a combustion plant with a capacity of between 1 and 5 MW, we recommend that you :
- check that you have all the information requested,
- submit them by the deadline by filling in a form for each of your installations concerned.
[1] Code de l'environnement Articles R. 515-113 à R. 515-116 : Installations de combustion moyennes créé par le Décret n° 2018-1161 du 18 décembre 2018 modifiant le chapitre V du titre Ier du livre V du code de l'environnement s'agissant des informations à fournir pour les installations de combustion moyennes [JORF du 19 décembre 2018]
[2] Order of January 2, 2019 specifying the procedures for collecting data relating to medium-sized combustion plants [JORF of January 18, 2019].