RWE's BoA 2&3 lignite plant, aka Neurath units F & G, was officially inaugurated on 25 August in Grevenbroich-Neurath near Cologne, Germany. With its 43% efficiency rating and great flexibility, the twin-unit plant with a total capacity of 2 200 MW is the world’s most advanced lignite-fired power station. Premier of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hannelore Kraft, and federal minister for the Environment Peter Altmaier, attended the ceremony.
RWE CEO Peter Terium gave an impressive demonstration of the plant’s flexibility to the 400+ guests. Instead of the usual start signal, he gave the order for a rapid reduction in electricity production.
Within five minutes, the output of one unit was reduced by over 150 MW – and then equally rapidly restored, demonstrating the power station’s ability to help offset grid imbalance such as that caused by the intermittency of wind and solar power. The total investment of €2.6 billion is one of the largest ever made in the history of RWE.
“RWE is doing exactly what the transformation of the German energy industry is all about. We are investing heavily in renewables and in the distribution systems. We are doing much to improve energy efficiency and develop new concepts for grid integration of renewables. And we are modernising our conventional power plant portfolio”, said Peter Terium, adding: “RWE is actively driving the transformation of the German energy industry. BoA 2&3 is an important element of our strategy, for modern coal and gas-fired power stations are indispensable. Unlike wind and solar sources, they are highly flexible and capable of producing electricity 24/7, which makes them the trump card of energy industry transformation.”
Ever since the early design phase of these units, RWE has placed great emphasis on the rapid responsiveness of the plant. Each unit can modify its output by 500 MW in only 15 minutes; and with regard to carbon emissions, BoA 2&3 is said to produce six million tons less than older plants, while still producing the same amount of power.
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