Uniper will permanently decommission the Heyden 4 hard coal-fired power plant in Petershagen near Minden on September 30, 2024, in line with the company’s 2020 decision to decommission the plant. As the responsible grid operator TenneT chose not to notify the Federal Network Agency by the deadline at the end of August 2023 of an extension of the existing determination of system relevance beyond September 2024, decommissioning is now final.
Heyden 4 power plant have been making a significant contribution to security of supply in northern and western Germany since 1987, and electricity has been generated at the site since 1951. The final decommissioning decision is a significant step for the Federal Republic of Germany's exit from coal-fired power generation, and for the transformation of Uniper's portfolio. Uniper will phase out coal-fired power generation by 2029 – eight years earlier than previously planned. Uniper aims to have a European power generation portfolio totalling 15-20 GW by 2030.
The Heyden 4 power plant had already ceased commercial operation after being awarded a contract in the first tender to reduce coal-fired power generation on December 28, 2020, but returned to the market from the grid reserve on August 29, 2022, on the basis of the EKBG ("Ersatzkraftwerkebereitstellungsgesetz") passed by the German government and the associated ordinance. This ordnance allowed the plant to return to the market until March 31, 2024. After that the plant became available to the system operator as a grid reserve power plant until end-September 2024.
The plant has a net capacity of 875 MW and currently employs 95 people with related training. Uniper is developing a master plan for the site, in close consultation with the town of Petershagen, in order to continue creating jobs in the future.
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