A consortium formed by RWE Power and 23 German municipal utilities has been given the all-clear for a new 1600 MW hard coal fired power plant in Hamm, Westphalia.
RWE says it has been granted approval by the Arnsberg regional government, paving the way for construction of the EUR2 billion project to start. The twin-unit plant is an important part of Germany’s capacity replacement programme, and will be carbon capture-ready.
A total of 23 utilities from North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate will have a share in the new plant and have also signed an agreement with RWE for the supply of baseload power from the plant when it starts operating in 2011.
The new plant will use advanced technology to achieve an efficiency rate of 46 per cent. This will lead to a reduction in CO2 emissions of 2.5 million tonnes per year compared with older plants with the same output.
The 23 utilities have formed a cooperative known as GEKKO (Gemeinschaftskraftwerk Steinkohle) and will hold a 350 MW share in the plant. This innovative approach to the project will help to reduce their exposure to market prices.
Several power plants in Germany are approaching the end of their service life and need to be replaced if the country is to avoid a capacity shortfall of 35 000 MW by 2020.
“With this project, RWE Power is forging ahead with its publicised power plant investment programme for Germany. New generation capacity is urgently needed if we are to ensure a modern energy supply and avoid shortages,” commented Dr Juergen Grossmann, CEO of RWE AG.
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