Siemens Energy has completed the 430 MWe Knapsack II combined-cycle power plant in Hürth near Cologne, Germany, six weeks ahead of schedule. The customer is Statkraft Markets GmbH. Siemens constructed the entire power plant as a turnkey project and supplied the main components. With an efficiency of 59.2 %, the plant is described as one of the most modern and environmentally friendly of its type in Europe, in particular because it has been engineered with short run-up and shutdown times to meet the requirements of a grid with a renewables feed-in. It is expected therefore to be able to play a major role in supporting Germany's new energy policy.
The power plant is located in the Knapsack Chemical Industrial Park in Hürth. It is a single-shaft unit - the gas and steam turbines are arranged on one shaft and drive the same generator. Such plants offer economic advantages owing to lower investment costs, along with a higher degree of operating flexibility.
Siemens delivered the F-class SGT5-4000F gas turbine, an SST5-3000 steam turbine, an SGen5-2000H generator, and the heat recovery steam generator as well as all the electrical engineering and the SPPA-T3000 control system.
Lothar Balling, the head of Gas Turbine Power Plant Solutions at Siemens Energy, commented, "The Knapsack II power plant is a highly modern facility that stands out thanks to its maximum flexibility and environmental compatibility. Due to its high efficiency, the CO2 and nitrogen oxide emissions are very low. In addition, when in hot-start mode, the power plant can be run up to full load in just a few minutes and thereby compensate for fluctuations in electricity generated by wind turbines and solar stations. Flexible and reliable CC plants such as Knapsack II are necessary to support the new energy policy. However, it does have to adapt to market conditions in order to ensure that the investments are amortised over time."
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