E.On’s plans to secure the future of coal in Europe’s energy mix has been bolstered by plans to build a new supercritical plant in Belgium. The 1100 MW plant is fourth in a “convoy” of state-of-the-art power plants that the utility is building in the region.
The new power plant – which has yet to receive any permits – will be built in the Antwerp harbour area of Belgium and will cost around Euros 1.5 billion to develop. The use of supercritical technology should produce for the plant an efficiency rating of 46 per cent, with CO2 emissions some 25 per cent lower than most existing coal fired power plants in the country.
The Antwerp plant will be made carbon capture ready, says E.On, which hopes to start construction in late 2009. It will supply electricity to the rid as well as steam and heat to local industries.
The new plant will have the same layout as two other supercritical coal plants being built by E.On in Europe – one in Dattelm, western Germany and another in the Netherlands. A third is planned near Frankfurt, Germany.
“All of these plants have the same layout, which allows us to take advantage of scale effects when purchasing equipment,” said an E.On spokesperson.
E.On is aiming to commission the Antwerp plant in 2014 and will strengthen the company’s presence in the Belgian energy market. The company also believes that its deployment of supercritical technology across Europe will help to improve the region’s security of supply and environmental performance.
“Coal has an important role to play in our future energy mix and therefore has to become as efficient and clean as possible,” said E.On CEO Wulf Bernotat. “The new generation of our power plants is an important step towards that aim.”
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