Coal-based power - new and improved
Coal will continue to play a major role in Europe’s energy system in the foreseeable future. Vattenfall is currently investing in a coal-fired power plant in Hamburg, Germany, to meet the region’s need for energy. CO2 emissions from coal-fired generation will be radically reduced when CCS technology is ready for commercial use.
According to the International Energy Agency’s annual World Energy Outlook from 2008, coal will continue to be an important energy source globally as well as in Europe for decades to come due to its abundance, availability and lack of competitive large-scale alternatives.
The EU has several Member States in which indigenous coal, including hard coal and lignite, has a predominant role in the domestic energy market. Currently, approximately 30% of electricity generation in the EU-27 countries is coal-based. In some EU countries, coal accounts for more than 50% of total power generation.
Germany is the biggest coal consumer in the EU, followed by Poland. Europe can cover a significant percentage of its coal demand from own resources. With annual production equivalent to 315 million tonnes of coal, Europe accounts for 8% of world production. In addition, Poland and Germany are the leading producers of coal within the EU. Together, they account for two-thirds of total coal production in the EU.
New coal-based power to secure energy supply
Many EU countries cannot guarantee secure supply of energy without coal-based power generation. Coal and nuclear power are essential to cover base load electricity all over Europe. In Germany, plans to withdraw from nuclear power are making coal an even more essential source of base load power. Vattenfall’s construction of a new hard coal–fired base load power plant in Moorburg, Germany, will guarantee a secure supply of electricity and district heating for the Hamburg metropolitan area.
In Vattenfall’s opinion, the main challenge is to make the use of fossil fuels, such as coal, as efficient as possible and radically reduce CO2 emissions by developing new technology. The Moorburg plant will replace old, inefficient capacity and reduce total emissions.
In addition to its availability, coal power is affordable and competitive, which is a major advantage. Other alternative fossil energy sources, such as gas or oil, have more limited reserves and are more influenced by the political situation in the world.
New Moorburg combined heat and power plant
One of the world’s most modern and efficient power plants for the supply of electricity and district heat is currently being built in Hamburg-Moorburg. Located on the Elbe River on a site that was previously used for electricity generation, the Moorburg coal-fired plant will make use of the latest available technology in its construction. Once in operation, the plant will meet roughly 85% of Hamburg’s electricity needs and 40% of its district heating needs.
The existing power plant in Hamburg-Wedel will reach the end of its economic and technological life by 2012, and Hamburg needs a new base for its electricity and heat supply. The basis for this project is to provide customers with a reliable and secure supply of electricity and heat. Secure energy supply is essential for Hamburg. It is a must to ensure the existence of already established major industries and the city’s ability to attract new business.
Prepared for climate-neutral energy generation
It is Vattenfall’s intention to keep emissions from the Moorburg plant as low as possible. Vattenfall has set itself the tangible target of reducing CO2 emissions per generated kWh by 50% in 2030 compared to 1990.
Consequently, in November 2007, Vattenfall made a pledge to the Hamburg Senate that, as soon as the technological, legal and economic criteria allow, the Moorburg power plant will be retrofitted with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology. With CCS, CO2 can be removed from the power plant’s flue gases for permanent storage underground. The precise date for implementation of CCS in Moorburg will be determined by a commission with equal representation from the city of Hamburg and Vattenfall. Vattenfall is a global leader in the development of CCS technology. (Read more in the 2008 Annual Report.)
Supporting regional development
The Moorburg power plant will create and guarantee jobs. In the future, nearly 350 people will be employed in the operation and maintenance of the power plant by Vattenfall and suppliers. This will provide the 96 employees of the Wedel power plant, scheduled for closure in 2012, with an opportunity for continued employment. At peak times during the construction process, up to 2,000 workers will be employed at the construction site. In addition, service companies in the region will receive an extra boost, while the port of Hamburg will gain in status as an international port through the addition of four to five million tonnes of bulk freight.
Hamburg will benefit not only from the newly created jobs. Construction of the power plant and the district heating pipeline will generate some EUR 2.5 billion in investment for the city of Hamburg. Based on experience, it can be expected that approximately 30% of this investment sum will benefit companies in the metropolitan area. Starting in 2012, operation of the power plant will generate significant tax revenue for Hamburg in addition to the fees charged for the use of the cooling water and for the port.
Effects of introducing a new highly efficient power plant
The new power plant will have an electrical net efficiency rate of 46.5%, which is very high compared to power plants around the world. Through the cogeneration of heat and power (CHP), this will result in a fuel utilisation rate of up to 61%. The new Moorburg power plant, with its comparatively low specific CO2 emissions, will contribute to pushing older, less efficient plants with higher emissions off the market. The phase-out and replacement of these older plants will result in an overall decrease in specific CO2 emissions per kWh in Germany.
Vattenfall estimates that, once operating on a continuous basis, the Moorburg power plant will produce approximately 750 g CO2 per kWh delivered to the grid (g/kWh net), compared with older coal-fired plants, which produce roughly 1,001 g/kWh. In total, this equates to an annual reduction of approximately 2.3 million tonnes of CO2. This has been confirmed by an independent report from TÜV Rheinland, a provider of technical services (the report is published on www.vattenfall.de/moorburg).
Modernised district heating will reduce CO2 emissions
Looking beyond electricity generation, further CO2 reductions will be achieved through the modernisation and extension of the district heating system in Hamburg. This extension is in line with the decision by the German Bundestag to double the share of combined heat and power, to 25% of total electricity generation, by 2020. In order to achieve this, the extension of district heating systems is necessary, especially in major cities.
Today 415,000 homes are connected to the district heating network in Hamburg. By 2015 Vattenfall will supply around 425,000 homes with district heat, with this figure rising to 525,000 by 2030. The Moorburg power plant, with its high-performance efficiency, and as the largest supplier of heat in the Hamburg district heating network, will be key to meeting these targets.
Compared with decentralised gas heating, the district heat supplied by Moorburg will produce less than half the CO2 emissions thanks to the efficiency of combined heat and power generation. Each home connected to the district heating network – with an average area of 70 m2 – will save one tonne of CO2 annually (according to Vattenfall’s estimations). In the future, the extension of the Hamburg district heating system will lead to annual savings of approximately 160,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions compared with heating from decentralised oil or gas-fired heating systems.
A power plant well within the statutory limits
Owing to its modern flue gas cleaning system system, the Moorburg plant also falls well below the statutory limits for airborne pollutants and noise pollution. Emissions will be minimised by highly effective measures such as flue gas denitrification, filtering using electric precipitators and flue gas desulphurisation. Consequently, the requirements for dust and sulphur oxides will be undercut by 50% and those for nitrogen oxides by 60%.
In addition, measures taken in the construction of the plant will reduce noise to a level that is lower than traffic and general noise levels in a city residential area.
There are also other areas, beyond the statutory limits, in which Vattenfall is working to limit the effects of the power plant. For example, Vattenfall is committed to protecting the adjacent Elbe River, from which the plant will take its cooling water. The cooling system is designed to minimise any increases in temperature caused by the discharge of cooling water in the river, thereby protecting biodiversity.
