Alternative Power

An Industrial Info News Alert claims a consortium led by Siemens (News - Alert) is constructing a highly efficient thermal power plant in Mainz, Germany. The group also includes Austrian Energy & Environment and Japan's IHI. The cost of this plant would be $1.5 billion and the capacity of it will be 800 MW.

 

The coal combustion plant can generate both heat and power for usage. In addition to the 800 MW output, it will also create 200 MW of heat for households in the district, and 30 MW for the region’s industries. It will be one of Europe’s most modern plants and has a thermal efficiency as high as 46% and a fuel efficiency of 60%. This high efficiency actually will help or prompt the other plants in the region opt for reduced emissions and effective technology.

 

According to Dr. Olaf Thurn, project manager at the KMW power plant in Mainz, the plant can produce cost effective and reliable power for the Mainz-Wiesbaden region.

 

The construction of the plant will commence in the late 2008 or early 2009 and Siemens’ part in it will be in the supply of essential components like steam turbine and generator, electrical and IC systems. It will also be in charge of planning, implementing, and commissioning of the plant. The other members of the consortium, Austrian Energy and Environment and Japan’s IHI, will provide the tower boiler, the flue-gas desulphurization plant, and other supply and disposal systems. Other things like coal handling and ash removal systems, and principal civil structures will be afforded from customer integration process. 

 

Michael Süss, CEO of the Siemens Energy Division Fossil Power Generation, said that despite the very tight situation relating to planning and erection resources, and delivery bottlenecks worldwide for key components such as turbines, pumps, piping, tanks and vessels; the consortium has succeeded together with the customer in achieving an optimized division of the scopes of supply and services. Cost effectiveness and meeting dead lines in supply is possible even with the distributed risk factor among the customer and the consortium.

 

It is the second such coal-fired plant the consortium is building in Germany. The first one is located at Lünen. The plants have in their use advanced and ultra clean technology.