Difference between revisions of "Niederaussem power station"

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{{#badges: CoalSwarm|Navbar-Germanyandcoal}} '''Niederaussem power station''' is a 3,676-megawatt (MW) lignite-fired power station in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, owned by [[RWE]].  
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{{#badges: CoalSwarm|Navbar-Germanyandcoal}} '''Niederaussem power station''' is a 3,568-megawatt (MW) lignite-fired power station in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, owned by [[RWE]]. In 2012 RWE proposed the construction of a new 1100 MW plant at the Niederaussem site, referred to as BOAplus, north of the previous site. In April 2019 the project was cancelled. (The new plant was intended to replace four older units with a combined capacity of 1100 MW.)
  
 
==Location==
 
==Location==
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The undated satellite below shows the plant in the Bergheim Niederaussem/Rhein-Erft-Kreis circle.  
+
The undated satellite below shows the plant in the Bergheim Niederaussem/Rhein-Erft-Kreis circle. The Niederaussem power plant is located on the terrain of the county town of Bergheim (RheinErft county), some 15 km northwest of Cologne.
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{{#display_point:50.996883, 6.667549|width=600|height=400|type=satellite|zoom=15}}
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{{#display_point:50.996883, 6.667549|width=600|height=500|type=satellite|zoom=16}}
  
 
==Background==
 
==Background==
−
The power station was planned in the 1960s as a 900-MW plant called Fortuna IV, following on from the now closed Fortuna I, II and III plants which produced electricity from 1912 until 1988. The project name was later changed to Niederaussem. The plant consists of nine units totaling 3,980 MW. The first eight are subcritical units commissioned between 1963 and 1974, and the ninth is a 1,012 MW ultra-supercritical unit commissioned in 2002. The first two units of 152 MW each were retired in 2012.<ref>[http://www.industcards.com/st-coal-germany-nw-n-w.htm "Coal-Fired Plants in Nordrhein-Westfalen - N to W,"] Industcards, accessed April 2016</ref>
+
The power station was planned in the 1960s as a 900-MW plant called Fortuna IV, following on from the now closed Fortuna I, II and III plants which produced electricity from 1912 until 1988. The project name was later changed to Niederaussem. The plant consisted of nine units totaling approximately 3,900 MW. The first eight are subcritical units commissioned between 1963 and 1974, and the ninth is a 1,012 MW ultra-supercritical unit commissioned in 2002. The first two units were retired in 2012, leaving 3568 MW.<ref>[http://www.rwe.com/web/cms/en/60132/rwe-power-ag/fuels/niederaussem-power-plant/ Niederaussem power plant,] RWE, accessed Dec 2017</ref><ref name=rwereport>[http://leonold.fe.uni-lj.si/ekskurzije/ekskurzija05/dokumenti/kraftwerk-niederaussem-englisch-download.pdf "Power from Niederaussem,"] RWE, date unknown</ref>
 +
 
 +
==History==
 +
The power station went on stream with 150-MW units in 1963 as Werk IV of the near-by Fortuna power plant, which was demolished in 1988. By 1974, the power plant had been expanded to a total gross electric capacity of 2,700 MW. In the mid-1980s/early 1990s, refurbishing work was carried out to reduce emissions. The power plant's turbines have been part-renewed since 1994.<ref name=rwereport/> 
 +
 
 +
==Units==
 +
The plant consists units A-I. Below are their gross capacity and the year commissioned:<ref name=rwereport/>
 +
*A - 144 MW - 1963 - Retired 2012
 +
*B - 152 MW - 1963 - Retired 2012
 +
*C - 335 MW - 1965
 +
*D - 320 MW - 1968
 +
*E - 315 MW - 1970
 +
*F - 320 MW - 1971
 +
*G - 630 MW - 1974
 +
*H - 636 MW - 1974
 +
*I - 1,012 MW - 2003
  
 
==CO2 emissions==
 
==CO2 emissions==
 
According to the study ''Dirty Thirty'', issued in May 2007 by the World Wide Fund for Nature, Niederaussem Power Station is the third-worst power station in Europe in terms of the relation of energy efficiency to CO<sub>2</sub> emissions<ref>[http://assets.panda.org/downloads/european_dirty_thirty_may_2007.pdf The ''Dirty Thirty'' report,] World Wide Fund for Nature, 2007</ref>.
 
According to the study ''Dirty Thirty'', issued in May 2007 by the World Wide Fund for Nature, Niederaussem Power Station is the third-worst power station in Europe in terms of the relation of energy efficiency to CO<sub>2</sub> emissions<ref>[http://assets.panda.org/downloads/european_dirty_thirty_may_2007.pdf The ''Dirty Thirty'' report,] World Wide Fund for Nature, 2007</ref>.
  
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==History==
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==2006 Fire==
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===Initial construction===
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An incident in the power station Niederaussem occurred on 9 June 2006. At 1:15 a fire caught hold in block H of the coaling station. The fire spread to two further coaling station blocks. Later the flames seized nearly the entire area of the "old power station", and a large, black smoke cloud ascended, which spread many kilometres to the north-west. The power station's own fire brigade could not control the fire and sounded the alarm. About 300 rescue forces from the entire Land responded. The damage to property went into the two digit million-range.{{Fact|date=January 2009}} <!--What unit of currency?--> Even by the late evening of the next day the fire was not completely extinguished. The spread of the fire was contained by recently developed fire precautions in the other sectors of the power station so that only the coaling station was affected.
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In the autumn of 1960 the construction work for the blocks A and B (150 MW) began. The location was selected because of the possibility of an extension. The supply of brown coal was ensured by seams on a north-south course ("Garzweiler"). Before blocks A and B first produced power, the construction work for the first 300 megawatt power station block location in Niederaussem began. That block went on-line in the summer 1965. Between 1968 and 1971 three further power plants with improved technology were developed. With the building of the two 600 MW plants a large jump forward occurred. These plants were added to the grid in 1974. At that time the plants at Niederaussem produced a total of 2,700 megawatts.
+
 
 +
==New unit L==
 +
RWE considered the construction of a new 1100 MW plant at the Niederaussem site, north of the previous site. In April 2019 the project was cancelled.
 +
 
 +
In October 2011 the company applied for the necessary amendment of the regional plan with the district government of Cologne. In July 2013 the regional council of the district government approved the amendment.<ref>[https://www.ksta.de/region/rhein-erft/bergheim/regionalrat-weg-fuer-neues-kohle-kraftwerk-ist-frei-2425898 "Regionalrat: Weg für neues Kohle-Kraftwerk ist frei,"] Kölner Stadt, July 5, 2013</ref> In September 2012, Bergheim City Council decided to draw up a development plan and change the land use plan.<ref>[https://www.o-sp.de/bergheim/plan/verfahrensschritte.php?pid=18786&S=89&L1=8&art=LINK3 "Stadtplanung,"] Kreisstadt Bergheim, accessed May 2018</ref> In November 2014, the Council approved land-use plan No. 261/Na and the 125th amendment of the land use plan.<ref>[http://www.rwe.com/web/cms/mediablob/de/2649416/data/1101766/1/boaplus/genehmigungsprozess/1125-Power-begruesst-Beschluss-zur-BoAplus-des-Rats-der-Stadt-Bergheim.pdf "BoAplus: RWE Power begrüßt Ratsbeschluss der Kreisstadt Bergheim zur Anpassung der Bauleitplanung,"] RWE, Nov 25, 2014</ref>
 +
 
 +
RWE has been preparing the permitting procedure under German emission control law since June 2015. On July 14, 2016, the company submitted the necessary documents to the district government of Cologne. At the same time, on 22 July, it submitted an application for a water permit. The decision to start construction will only be made once all permits have been obtained and the economic viability of the power plant has been assured.<ref>[https://rp-online.de/wirtschaft/unternehmen/rwe-treibt-kraftwerks-neubau-voran_aid-18038111 "RWE treibt Kraftwerks-Neubau voran,"] RP Online, Sep 27, 2017</ref>
  
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===Mid-1990s===
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It was proposed that the planned 1100 MW unit would replace four older units of Niederaussem with a total capacity of 1200 MW.<ref>[https://www.rundschau-online.de/braunkohlekraftwerk-rwe-schafft-voraussetzungen-10728166 "Braunkohlekraftwerk: RWE schafft Voraussetzungen,"] Kölnische, Oct 8, 2011</ref>
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In the middle of the 1990s the output was again increased. In order to reach the limit values of the new environmental protection regulations, in 1986 the work for a flue gas desulphurating plant began. That work was completed in 1988. The flue gases are fed into scrubbers and cleaned by a lime water mixture. The cleaned and cooled exhaust gases are then warmed up to 75°C (167;°F) again and carried by the chimneys to the outside air. During the flue gas purification, gypsum from the lime water mixture, which is processed beside the power station in Auenheim by the company Pro mineral, is produced.
 
  
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===1997 to present===
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In October 2016 it was reported the new unit would likely only lose money for the company if built.<ref>[https://energytransition.org/2016/10/germanys-last-new-coal-plant/ "Germany’s last new coal plant,"] Energy Transition, Oct 3, 2016</ref>
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With the building of the block brown coal power station with optimized equipment technology (BoA) a new chapter at the power station began; between 1997 and 2002 it was the most modern brown coal power station block of the world with a gross achievement of 1,012 megawatts (950 MW net) developed with a far higher efficiency (43%) than the other plants (as low as 31%). RWE invested 1,200 million Euros into the project. Beside the new power station block, whose building has a height of 172 metres (one of the tallest industrial buildings in the world), the largest cooling tower in the world (200 metres), which serves also as the chimney of this unit, had already been built. By these developments Niederaussem became one of the largest and most modern coal-fired power stations in the world. The official opening of the new block took place in summer 2002. In the presence of Wolfgang Clement, the then North Rhine-Westphalia Prime Minister, and Gerhard Schroeder, the then Chancellor of Germany (Federal Republic), the new power station went on to the grid.
 
  
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Since 21 July 2006 RWE has spent €40 million building a fluidized bed drying unit with waste heat technology (WTA) as a pilot project for the drying process of the raw brown coal. In addition the free waste heat of the power station is used. It is hoped that in the next few decades the overall efficiency of electricity production by brown coal can be increased to 50%.
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In September 2018 RWE said it was likely to cancel the plant, despite an ongoing approvals process.<ref>[https://www.montelnews.com/en/story/11-gw-lignite-plant-project-to-be-cancelled--rwe-official/933638 "1.1 GW lignite plant project to be cancelled – RWE official,"] Montel, Sep 11, 2018</ref>
  
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==2006 Fire==
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In November 2018, the Munster Higher Administrative Court declared the development plan of the city of Bergheim invalid, which is a prerequisite for the construction of the power plant. The court ruled in favour of local residents who had claimed that the construction of the power plant violated the state development plan and the climate protection law of North Rhine-Westphalia.<ref>[https://www1.wdr.de/nachrichten/rheinland/koeln-kraftwerk-klage-bergheim-ovg-100.html "OVG stoppt Bau von Kraftwerk Bergheim-Niederaußem,"] WDR, Nov 15, 2018</ref>
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An incident in the power station Niederaussem occurred on 9 June 2006. At 1:15 a fire caught hold in block H of the coaling station. The fire spread to two further coaling station blocks. Later the flames seized nearly the entire area of the "old power station", and a large, black smoke cloud ascended, which spread many kilometres to the north-west. The power station's own fire brigade could not control the fire and sounded the alarm. About 300 rescue forces from the entire Land responded. The damage to property went into the two digit million-range.{{Fact|date=January 2009}} <!--What unit of currency?--> Even by the late evening of the next day the fire was not completely extinguished. The spread of the fire was contained by recently developed fire precautions in the other sectors of the power station so that only the coaling station was affected.
 
  
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==References==
+
In April 2019 RWE announced, after the coal exit commission recommended all coal plants be phased out by 2038, that it had cancelled the project. The company stated that the project's "implementation was subject to market conditions, which did not allow for the project to be realised in the last years." The company also stated that "in the future, RWE will focus on electricity generation from renewable energy sources. Consequently, the company will no longer invest in new built of coal-fired power stations."<ref>RWE,[https://news.rwe.com/en/rwe-cancels-plans-for-boaplus-project-at-niederaussem-site/ "RWE cancels plans for BoAplus project at Niederaussem site: No more investments in new coal-fired power stations"], Media Release, April 26, 2019.</ref> <ref> Vera Eckert, [https://www.reuters.com/article/rwe-coal-niederaussem/rwe-cancels-plans-for-new-coal-plants-including-niederaussem-idUSL5N22836S "RWE cancels plans for new coal plants, including Niederaussem"], ''Reuters'', April 26, 2019.</ref>
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===Sources===
 
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<references/>
 
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*[http://www.rwe.com/web/cms/de/60132/rwe-power-ag/standorte/braunkohle/kraftwerke/kw-niederaussem/ Kraftwerk Niederaußem] (de)
 
  
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==Project Details==
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==Plant Details of units C-K==
 
*'''Sponsor:''' RWE Power AG
 
*'''Sponsor:''' RWE Power AG
 
*'''Parent company:''' RWE AG
 
*'''Parent company:''' RWE AG
Line 38: Line 53:
 
*'''Coordinates:''' 50.996883, 6.667549 (exact)
 
*'''Coordinates:''' 50.996883, 6.667549 (exact)
 
*'''Status:''' Operating
 
*'''Status:''' Operating
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*'''Capacity:'''  3,676 MW  
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*'''Capacity:'''  3,568 MW  
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*'''Start date:''' 1963-1974 (Units A-H), 2002 (Units K)
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*'''Start date:''' 1965-1974 (Units C-H), 2002 (Unit K)
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*'''Type:''' [[Subcritical]] (Units A-H), [[Ultra-supercritical]] (Unit K)
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*'''Type:''' [[Subcritical]] (Units C-H), [[Ultra-supercritical]] (Unit K)
 
*'''Coal Type:''' Lignite
 
*'''Coal Type:''' Lignite
 
*'''Coal Source:''' Domestic
 
*'''Coal Source:''' Domestic
 
*'''Source of financing:'''
 
*'''Source of financing:'''
 +
 +
==Project Details of unit L==
 +
*'''Sponsor:''' RWE Power AG
 +
*'''Parent company:''' RWE AG
 +
*'''Developer:'''
 +
*'''Location:''' Bergheim, Rhein-Erft-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
 +
*'''Coordinates:''' 50.996883, 6.667549 (exact)
 +
*'''Status:''' cancelled
 +
*'''Capacity:'''  1,100 MW
 +
*'''Start date:'''
 +
*'''Type:''' [[Ultra-supercritical]]
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*'''Coal Type:''' Lignite
 +
*'''Coal Source:''' Domestic
 +
*'''Source of financing:'''
 +
 +
==References==
 +
===Sources===
 +
<references/>
 +
*[http://www.rwe.com/web/cms/de/60132/rwe-power-ag/standorte/braunkohle/kraftwerke/kw-niederaussem/ Kraftwerk Niederaußem] (de)
  
 
===Related SourceWatch articles===
 
===Related SourceWatch articles===

Latest revision as of 20:58, 29 April 2019

{{#badges: CoalSwarm|Navbar-Germanyandcoal}} Niederaussem power station is a 3,568-megawatt (MW) lignite-fired power station in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, owned by RWE. In 2012 RWE proposed the construction of a new 1100 MW plant at the Niederaussem site, referred to as BOAplus, north of the previous site. In April 2019 the project was cancelled. (The new plant was intended to replace four older units with a combined capacity of 1100 MW.)

Location

The undated satellite below shows the plant in the Bergheim Niederaussem/Rhein-Erft-Kreis circle. The Niederaussem power plant is located on the terrain of the county town of Bergheim (RheinErft county), some 15 km northwest of Cologne.

Background

The power station was planned in the 1960s as a 900-MW plant called Fortuna IV, following on from the now closed Fortuna I, II and III plants which produced electricity from 1912 until 1988. The project name was later changed to Niederaussem. The plant consisted of nine units totaling approximately 3,900 MW. The first eight are subcritical units commissioned between 1963 and 1974, and the ninth is a 1,012 MW ultra-supercritical unit commissioned in 2002. The first two units were retired in 2012, leaving 3568 MW.[1][2]

History

The power station went on stream with 150-MW units in 1963 as Werk IV of the near-by Fortuna power plant, which was demolished in 1988. By 1974, the power plant had been expanded to a total gross electric capacity of 2,700 MW. In the mid-1980s/early 1990s, refurbishing work was carried out to reduce emissions. The power plant's turbines have been part-renewed since 1994.[2]

Units

The plant consists units A-I. Below are their gross capacity and the year commissioned:[2]

  • A - 144 MW - 1963 - Retired 2012
  • B - 152 MW - 1963 - Retired 2012
  • C - 335 MW - 1965
  • D - 320 MW - 1968
  • E - 315 MW - 1970
  • F - 320 MW - 1971
  • G - 630 MW - 1974
  • H - 636 MW - 1974
  • I - 1,012 MW - 2003

CO2 emissions

According to the study Dirty Thirty, issued in May 2007 by the World Wide Fund for Nature, Niederaussem Power Station is the third-worst power station in Europe in terms of the relation of energy efficiency to CO2 emissions[3].

2006 Fire

An incident in the power station Niederaussem occurred on 9 June 2006. At 1:15 a fire caught hold in block H of the coaling station. The fire spread to two further coaling station blocks. Later the flames seized nearly the entire area of the "old power station", and a large, black smoke cloud ascended, which spread many kilometres to the north-west. The power station's own fire brigade could not control the fire and sounded the alarm. About 300 rescue forces from the entire Land responded. The damage to property went into the two digit million-range.[citation needed] Even by the late evening of the next day the fire was not completely extinguished. The spread of the fire was contained by recently developed fire precautions in the other sectors of the power station so that only the coaling station was affected.

New unit L

RWE considered the construction of a new 1100 MW plant at the Niederaussem site, north of the previous site. In April 2019 the project was cancelled.

In October 2011 the company applied for the necessary amendment of the regional plan with the district government of Cologne. In July 2013 the regional council of the district government approved the amendment.[4] In September 2012, Bergheim City Council decided to draw up a development plan and change the land use plan.[5] In November 2014, the Council approved land-use plan No. 261/Na and the 125th amendment of the land use plan.[6]

RWE has been preparing the permitting procedure under German emission control law since June 2015. On July 14, 2016, the company submitted the necessary documents to the district government of Cologne. At the same time, on 22 July, it submitted an application for a water permit. The decision to start construction will only be made once all permits have been obtained and the economic viability of the power plant has been assured.[7]

It was proposed that the planned 1100 MW unit would replace four older units of Niederaussem with a total capacity of 1200 MW.[8]

In October 2016 it was reported the new unit would likely only lose money for the company if built.[9]

In September 2018 RWE said it was likely to cancel the plant, despite an ongoing approvals process.[10]

In November 2018, the Munster Higher Administrative Court declared the development plan of the city of Bergheim invalid, which is a prerequisite for the construction of the power plant. The court ruled in favour of local residents who had claimed that the construction of the power plant violated the state development plan and the climate protection law of North Rhine-Westphalia.[11]

In April 2019 RWE announced, after the coal exit commission recommended all coal plants be phased out by 2038, that it had cancelled the project. The company stated that the project's "implementation was subject to market conditions, which did not allow for the project to be realised in the last years." The company also stated that "in the future, RWE will focus on electricity generation from renewable energy sources. Consequently, the company will no longer invest in new built of coal-fired power stations."[12] [13]

Plant Details of units C-K

  • Sponsor: RWE Power AG
  • Parent company: RWE AG
  • Developer:
  • Location: Bergheim, Rhein-Erft-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
  • Coordinates: 50.996883, 6.667549 (exact)
  • Status: Operating
  • Capacity: 3,568 MW
  • Start date: 1965-1974 (Units C-H), 2002 (Unit K)
  • Type: Subcritical (Units C-H), Ultra-supercritical (Unit K)
  • Coal Type: Lignite
  • Coal Source: Domestic
  • Source of financing:

Project Details of unit L

  • Sponsor: RWE Power AG
  • Parent company: RWE AG
  • Developer:
  • Location: Bergheim, Rhein-Erft-Kreis, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
  • Coordinates: 50.996883, 6.667549 (exact)
  • Status: cancelled
  • Capacity: 1,100 MW
  • Start date:
  • Type: Ultra-supercritical
  • Coal Type: Lignite
  • Coal Source: Domestic
  • Source of financing:

References

Sources

  1. ↑ Niederaussem power plant, RWE, accessed Dec 2017
  2. ↑ Jump up to: 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Power from Niederaussem," RWE, date unknown
  3. ↑ The Dirty Thirty report, World Wide Fund for Nature, 2007
  4. ↑ "Regionalrat: Weg für neues Kohle-Kraftwerk ist frei," Kölner Stadt, July 5, 2013
  5. ↑ "Stadtplanung," Kreisstadt Bergheim, accessed May 2018
  6. ↑ "BoAplus: RWE Power begrüßt Ratsbeschluss der Kreisstadt Bergheim zur Anpassung der Bauleitplanung," RWE, Nov 25, 2014
  7. ↑ "RWE treibt Kraftwerks-Neubau voran," RP Online, Sep 27, 2017
  8. ↑ "Braunkohlekraftwerk: RWE schafft Voraussetzungen," Kölnische, Oct 8, 2011
  9. ↑ "Germany’s last new coal plant," Energy Transition, Oct 3, 2016
  10. ↑ "1.1 GW lignite plant project to be cancelled – RWE official," Montel, Sep 11, 2018
  11. ↑ "OVG stoppt Bau von Kraftwerk Bergheim-Niederaußem," WDR, Nov 15, 2018
  12. ↑ RWE,"RWE cancels plans for BoAplus project at Niederaussem site: No more investments in new coal-fired power stations", Media Release, April 26, 2019.
  13. ↑ Vera Eckert, "RWE cancels plans for new coal plants, including Niederaussem", Reuters, April 26, 2019.

Related SourceWatch articles

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Other Countries and Coal

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