World's Greenest Fossil Fueled Power Plant Inaugurated in Germany

Built close to Ingolstadt, a new gas and steam power plant that is said to set new standards for efficient and environmentally-friendly electricity production has just been inaugurated by energy and gas provider giant E.ON.

The new German plant, which bears the name ‘Ulrich Hartmann power plant,’ has an installed capacity of 561 megawatts, and achieves an efficiency level of 60.4 percent.

“This power plant is part of the energy transition,” explained Ingo Luge, the chairman of the Board of Management of E.ON Energie AG. “Plants like this one here in Irsching are an essential milestone on the way to the energy supply of the future. E.ON has been driving this expansion forward for many years and invested more than one billion Euro in renewables in 2010 alone.”

The increased level of efficiency in E.ON’s Ulrich Hartmann power plant is the result of innovative developments in turbine and boiler technology that, together with other existing technologies enable higher combustion temperatures than in current gas and steam plants.

In order for the gas turbine to cope with these high temperatures, the engineers have come up with advanced blade materials, heat-resistant coatings and optimized air cooling of the turbine blades.

The turbine reportedly has high load cycling capability, which means that the electricity production can be adapted flexibly and quickly to meet changing demand.

“Our commitment to the energy supply of the future does not just include generating electricity from the wind and sun, but also the integration of renewables in the distribution networks as well as decentralized generation from small-scale combined heat and power plants,” continued Luge.

Earlier this year, E.ON also opened Hungary’s most up-to-date and efficient combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant, in Gonyu. The respective plant has a capacity of 433 megawatts and efficiency of over 59 percent.

Two other large plants are also awaiting commissioning in Russia. Located in Surgutskaya and Yaivinskaya, the Russian plants are expected to have a total installed capacity of 1,200 megawatts.