Statkraft has announced that its 510 MW Robert Frank gas-fired power plant in Landesbergen, Germany will be put on the cold reserve list. A biomass plant located at the same site will continue to operate on a standalone basis.
"In our view, gas-to-power still is the most efficient and environmentally-friendly technology for complementing the production of renewable energy in Germany," commented vp Asbjørn Grundt, speaking for the company. "However, in the current market situation it is not economically viable to operate older gas-fired power plants."
"Unfortunately, the market perspectives for gas-to-power in Germany have continued to deteriorate over the past twelve months," said Dr Jürgen Tzschoppe, senior vp, Continental Energy at Statkraft. "Based on the current market status, it is not possible to operate the plant economically. And we cannot justify keeping a reserve unit in the portfolio while the efficient power plants in Knapsack and Herdecke are hardly running. The plant is a cheap reserve in comparison to other technologies but we don’t get any compensation for keeping such a reserve alive." TenneT, the transmission system operator, recently classified the Robert Frank power station as ‘non-system relevant’.
The advanced combined cycle plant Knapsack II will commence operations in the second quarter of 2013. The gas-fired plants Knapsack I and Herdecke will continue operations. As of summer 2013, says Statkraft, its gas-fired portfolio will consist exclusively of modern, higher efficiency power plants.
"The ‘Energiewende’ [literally ‘energy transition", the political term used for the transformation of the German energy industry] depends on a set-up that ensures the operation of flexible and low emission generation capacity. The closure of our gas-fired power plants and the growing market share of coal-fired generation clearly demonstrate that we are off track. A system is needed that supports the most efficient, environmental-friendly, and flexible solutions to balance the system. The most efficient mix of technology, be it gas-fired generation or storage, demand side management, cable connections to large reservoirs or a mix of all must be determined in a market yet to be created," says Jürgen Tzschoppe.
