EnBW to decommission coal fired power plants

The German utility company, EnBW, is planning to decommission two coal-fired power station units with a combined capacity of 250 MW, at its Heilbronn site.

Hard coal units

The decision comes following the result of feasibility studies of its conventional power plants. The two stations comprise the hard coal units HLB 5 and HLB 6, both of which were connected to the grid in the 1960s, and deliver an output of 125 MW each. The company added that the third unit, HLB 7, is not affected by the decommissioning decision, although it is subject to continuous feasibility studies.

The decision by the EnBW management board is still subject to supervisory board approval. As soon as the final approval is granted, EnBW will notify the transmission system operator and the Federal Network Agency.

The transmission system operator will then examine whether and when the power station units can be decommissioned. If HLB 5 and HLB 6 are taken offline, approximately 80 employees will be affected.

Comments

Giving reasons for the decision, EnBW commented: “Rapid structural change in the energy sector forms the background to this decision. Especially as a result of the marked additional construction of renewable energy sources, numerous fossil plants are subject to strong commercial and financial pressure, and frequently continue to be operated solely as ‘marginal power plants’. This is resulting in a drastic revenue declines. The power plants that are impacted are far from being able to fully cover their costs given today's electricity market prices, and cannot be operated on a commercially feasible basis.”

Conventional power plants

EnBW currently generates approximately 4290 MW from conventional power plants located in Baden-Württemberg. In addition, the RDK 8 hard coal power plant in Karlsruhe, with a capacity of 900 MW, is currently in the commissioning stage. In Mannheim, a further hard coal power plant in which EnBW has invested is under construction.

Edited from various sources by Katie Woodward

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcoal.com/power/03032014/coal_fired_power_plants_to_be_taken_offline_in_germany_579/