Weisweiler power plant

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Weisweiler power plant
South side of the Weisweiler power plant in front of the A4 motorway
South side of the Weisweiler power plant in front of the A4 motorway
location
Weisweiler power plant (North Rhine-Westphalia)
Weisweiler power plant
Coordinates 50 ° 50 ′ 21 ″  N , 6 ° 19 ′ 16 ″  E Coordinates: 50 ° 50 ′ 21 ″  N , 6 ° 19 ′ 16 ″  E
country GermanyGermany Germany
Data
Type Steam power plant
Primary energy Fossil energy
fuel Lignite
(+ natural gas for VGT )
power 2,457 megawatts (net)
owner RWE AG
Project start 1950
Start of operations 1955
Shutdown 2 × 90 MW, 2 × 125 MW
turbine Steam turbines , gas turbines
Chimney height 168 m
Energy fed in 2012 to 2014 (mean) 15,300 GWh
f2
Weisweiler power plant, in the foreground the trench fuel bunker
Weisweiler power plant

The power plant Weisweiler of RWE Power AG in Eschweiler - Weisweiler used for base load . It is fired with lignite , which is mined by RWE Power AG in the Inden opencast mine . Averaged over the years 2012 to 2014, the power plant generated an annual average of 15.3  TWh of electricity, for which an average of 18.4 million tons of lignite was burned. With CO 2 emissions of 18.1 million tons, the power plant caused the fifth highest greenhouse gas emissions of all European power plants in 2015 and the highest emissions per MW in 2013 .

Technology and history

The Rhenish lignite district

On May 13, 1913, Kraftwerk AG Köln was founded and built the first future power plant in Weisweiler. On July 1, 1914, the first construction phase began trial operation with an output of 12 MW. The regular delivery of electricity took place from September 1st of the same year. Lignite from the Zukunft opencast mine was converted into electricity .

In 1937, the 168 m high power plant chimney, Der Lange Heinrich, was built. It developed into one of Weisweiler's landmarks. After the shutdown during the Second World War, work resumed on July 1, 1947. On March 25, 1975, RWE Power Plant II was shut down and Power Plant I expanded. On June 28, 1978, Lange Heinrich was blown up.

The four lignite units that are still in operation today (as of 2015) have a combined net output of approx. 1,913  MW . These units, two each with an output of 321 MW (Units E and F) and 635 MW (Units G and H), were built between 1955 and 1975. In 2006, two additional natural gas-fired gas turbines (VGT) for Units G and H were added Operation, which increased their output by 82  MW each and each have an output of 190 MW. Due to the changed revenue situation in 2013, the gas turbines were permanently preserved and taken out of active operation.

The first lignite from the Inden opencast mine was converted into electricity on December 8, 1982. In the second half of the 1980s, all units were equipped with flue gas desulphurisation systems and their boilers were rebuilt with the aim of denitrification . Since the 1990s, the power plant has been made more economical and environmentally friendly through further measures: The efficiency of the turbines has been improved, district heating has been extracted and the gypsum produced by desulphurization has been upgraded. However, this has been stored in a landfill for several years . No more buyers can be found because this gypsum is darker than that from other power plants. Less lime water is required to bind the sulfur, as the Inden coal contains less sulfur than the other coals in the area.

In the years from 1995 to 1997, a waste incineration plant was built at the site (the blue building at the bottom left in the aerial photo). On February 17, 2003, the first garbage from the Düren district was burned there.

On November 15, 2017, the power plant was blocked by environmental activists and had to be shut down. RWE sued six activists for two million euros in damages.

Power plant units

The power plant originally consisted of eight blocks (2 × 100 MW, 2 × 150 MW, 2 × 300 MW and 2 × 600 MW nominal), which were built between 1954 and 1975, with a gross output of around 2,458 MW. Due to closures and renovations, only the four most powerful units are in operation today; the upstream gas turbines are initially conserved until 2019 and are currently only available as a cold reserve.

block (A) (B) (C) (D) E. F. G H VGT G VGT H
Net power (electrical)
grid feed-in 		90 MW 90 MW 125 MW 125 MW 321 MW 321 MW 636 MW 635 MW 272 MW 272 MW
Installation 1955 1959 1965 1967 1974 1975 2006
Shutdown Yes 2012 December 31, 2021 (planned) January 1, 2025 (planned) April 1, 2028 (planned) April 1, 2029 (planned) -
Efficiency (electrical) 28% 31% 33% 36% (40% with VGT) 50% (natural gas)
spec. Coal consumption 1.45 kg / kWh 1.3 kg / kWh 1.2 kg / kWh 1.15 kg / kWh -
Chimney (height) 1 × 100 m 2 × 100 m 2 × 130 m 2 × 160 m via the downstream switchgear
Cooling tower (height) 4 × 40 m
(fan cooler) 		4 × 40 m
(fan cooler) 		3 × 50 m
(fan cooler) 		1 × 106 m
(natural draft wet cooling tower) 		2 × 128 m
(natural draft wet cooling tower) 		via the downstream switchgear

Legend: () = block no longer in operation, VGT = upstream gas turbine with integration for two-stage feed water preheating in the respective blocks. The net output per GT is 190 MW and an additional 82 MW via the steam turbines in the lignite blocks, thanks to the saving of bleed steam for the previous preheating system.

Units F, G and H are connected to the grid via the Oberzier switchgear at the 380 kV maximum voltage level in the power grid of the transmission system operator Amprion . The grid connection of block E, the upstream gas turbines of blocks G and H as well as the waste incineration plant takes place via the switchgear Zukunft on the 110 kV high voltage level in the power grid of the distribution network operator Rhein-Ruhr distribution network .

Units C and D were shut down at the end of 2012.

According to plans by the federal government, the remaining units are to be shut down in 2021, 2025, 2028 and 2029.

Legionella contamination

From August to October 2014 there were around 70 cases of illness and suspected legionellosis with one death in the Düren district . In 2014 it was examined whether the diseases were caused by the power plant, but the health authorities could not identify a clear source. A cooling water sample from block F showed up to 61,500  CFU per 100 ml of water (the guide value is 1,000 CFU legionella). The State Environment Ministry then ordered a nationwide inspection of all cooling towers and in October introduced a legislative initiative through the Federal Council that cooling systems must be regularly checked for Legionella. The operator RWE and the Cologne district government have meanwhile been instructed by the State Environment Ministry to reduce legionella pollution in the power plant. The most heavily contaminated unit F (300 MW) was temporarily taken off the grid in September. The district government of Cologne asked RWE to disinfect it on October 28th, as the contamination with 25,000  CFU Legionella per 100 mL proved the failure of the previous measures. At the end of November 2014, a contamination of 275,000 Legionella colonies per 100 milliliters was detected in the cooling system, a value that has increased significantly compared to October 2014. The subsequent chemical cleaning of the cooling tower appears to have had no effect. The LANUV then banned the restart of Block F, which was shut down on November 28th. After the submission of a short-term concept of measures to achieve a load below 50,000 CFU and long-term 10,000 CFU, the ban was lifted and the block restarted on December 15.

Emission of pollutants and greenhouse gases

Power plant critics criticize the high emissions of nitrogen oxides , sulfur oxides , mercury and fine dust at the Weisweiler power plant , which can contain carcinogenic substances ( lead , cadmium , nickel , PAHs , dioxins and furans ). In 2013, a study commissioned by Greenpeace from the University of Stuttgart came to the conclusion that the fine dusts emitted by the Weisweiler power plant in 2010 and the secondary fine dusts formed from sulfur dioxide , nitrogen oxide and NMVOC emissions lead statistically to 1,844 years of life lost. The Weisweiler power plant therefore ranks fourth on the list of “Germany's most harmful coal power plants”.

In addition, stand in the face of climate change , the CO 2 emissions in the criticism. Lignite power plants have the highest carbon dioxide emissions per generated kilowatt hour, which is why environmental and climate protectionists criticize them as particularly inefficient and harmful to the climate. On the list of the most climate-damaging power plants in the EU published by WWF in 2007 , the Weisweiler power plant was ranked 6th in Europe and 4th in Germany (1180 g CO 2 per kilowatt hour) after the Niederaussem , Jänschwalde and Frimmersdorf power plants . In absolute figures, the Weisweiler power plant had the sixth highest carbon dioxide emissions in Europe in 2006, after the Bełchatów power plant (Poland), the three above-mentioned power plants in Germany and the Drax power plant in England. In 2007, the carbon dioxide emissions of the Weisweiler power plant were the third highest of all power plants in Germany, according to BUND . In 2013, carbon dioxide emissions per MW were the highest in Europe .

The Weisweiler power plant reported the following emissions in the European " PRTR " pollutant register :

Emissions from the Weisweiler power plant according to PRTR
Air pollutant 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Carbon dioxide ( CO 2 ) 19,885,000,000 kg 21,615,900,000 kg 19,202,000,000 kg 19,896,000,000 kg 19,300,000,000 kg 20,200,000,000 kg 18,800,000,000 kg 18,800,000,000 kg 18,300,000,000 kg 18,900,000,000 kg
Nitrogen oxides ( NO x / NO 2 ) 13,020,900 kg 13,418,600 kg 12,297,900 kg 12,706,800 kg 12,100,000 kg 13,400,000 kg 12,700,000 kg 11,600,000 kg 12,600,000 kg 12,700,000 kg
Carbon monoxide ( CO ) 9,990,000 kg 10,100,000 kg 8,780,000 kg 9,920,000 kg 9,950,000 kg 9,830,000 kg 9,200,000 kg 7,410,000 kg 8,190,000 kg 9,130,000 kg
Sulfur dioxide (as SO x / SO 2 ) 3,757,700 kg 3,939,900 kg 3,364,900 kg 3,064,100 kg 3,570,000 kg 4,630,000 kg 5,390,000 kg 4,050,000 kg 4,130,000 kg 3,100,000 kg
Particulate matter ( PM10 ) 735,000 kg 519,002 kg 396,000 kg 456,000 kg 404,000 kg 391,000 kg 277,000 kg 229,000 kg 235,000 kg 325,000 kg
Inorganic Chlorine Compounds (as HCl ) 95,246 kg 125,477 kg 85,706 kg 42,872 kg 54,800 kg 104,000 kg 60,700 kg 52,700 kg 62,100 kg 68,700 kg
Inorganic fluorine compounds (as HF ) 6,400 kg - - - - 8,360 kg 14,000 kg 5,190 kg 14,500 kg 13,000 kg
Mercury and compounds (as Hg ) 439 kg 412 kg 276 kg 271 kg 363 kg 299 kg 227 kg 232 kg 176 kg 271 kg
Zinc and compounds (as Zn ) 284 kg 299 kg 271 kg 281 kg 273 kg 290 kg 269 ​​kg 244 kg 262 kg 270 kg
Copper and compounds (as Cu ) 122 kg 484 kg - 147 kg 182 kg 244 kg - - 160 kg 112 kg
Nickel and compounds (as Ni ) - - - 103 kg 108 kg - 88 kg - 138 kg 207 kg
Chromium and compounds (as Cr ) - - - - - 154 kg - - 120 kg 141 kg
Arsenic and Compounds (as As ) 36.3 kg - - 67 kg 40 kg 38 kg - 29 kg 67 kg 29.7 kg
Cadmium and Compounds (as Cd ) - 13 kg - - 35 kg - 23 kg 27 kg 26 kg 39.2 kg

No other typical pollutant emissions were reported, as they are only required to be reported in the PRTR from an annual minimum amount, e.g. B. Dioxins and furans from 0.0001 kg, cadmium from 10 kg, arsenic from 20 kg, chromium from 100 kg, lead from 200 kg, fluorine and inorganic fluorine compounds from 5,000 kg, ammonia and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) from 10,000 kg , volatile organic compounds other than methane (NMVOC) of 100,000 kg.

The European Environment Agency has estimated the cost of damage to the environment and health of the 28,000 largest industrial plants in Europe on the basis of the emission data reported in the PRTR using the scientific methods of the European Commission. According to this, the Weisweiler power plant (called “Eschweiler” there) causes the ninth highest damage costs of all European industrial plants.

Environmental and health damage
cause Damage costs unit proportion of
Weisweiler power plant 824-1135 Million Euros 0.7-0.8%
A total of 28,000 systems 102-169 billion euro 100%

See also

Web links

Commons : Kraftwerk Weisweiler  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.rwe.com/web/cms/de/60142/rwe-power-ag/energietraeger/braunkohle/standorte/kw-weisweiler/
  2. ↑ German power plants are among the dirtiest in all of Europe. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , April 1, 2016. Accessed April 1, 2016.
  3. ↑ Lukas Eberle: Switched off . In: Der Spiegel . No. 44 , 2019, pp. 48–51 ( online - October 26, 2019 ).
  4. ↑ RWE transparency offensive; Power plant data / operational information: [1]
  5. ↑ a b Federal Network Agency power plant list (nationwide; all network and transformer levels) as of July 2nd, 2012. ( Microsoft Excel file; 1.6 MB) Archived from the original on July 22, 2012 ; Retrieved July 21, 2012 .
  6. ↑ Publication of the expansion and dismantling of the Federal Network Agency. ( Memento of the original from July 22, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. As of September 12, 2012 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bundesnetzagentur.de
  7. ↑ When the lignite power plants are to be shut down. In: Spiegel.de. January 16, 2020, accessed January 16, 2020 .
  8. ↑ Legionella: One track leads to the Jülich Research Center. District of Düren , 2014, accessed on October 24, 2014 .
  9. ↑ Mass disease: are power plants the culprits? In: WiWo Green . November 6, 2014, accessed November 11, 2014 .
  10. ↑ Legionella in Weisweiler: power plant block switched off. In: Aachener Zeitung , October 1, 2014. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  11. ↑ WORLD: Legionella outbreak in Jülich ended: No source found . In: THE WORLD . November 11, 2014 ( welt.de [accessed March 22, 2020]).
  12. ↑ New findings in the search for sources on the Legionella outbreak in the city of Jülich. ( Memento of the original from October 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Press release from the Ministry of the Environment of North Rhine-Westphalia. Retrieved October 1, 2014. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.umwelt.nrw.de
  13. ↑ Other power plants checked. In: The world . October 2, 2014, accessed October 5, 2014 .
  14. ↑ Source of outbreak still unclear. In: WDR . October 9, 2014, accessed October 11, 2014 .
  15. ↑ Legionella in Jülich: Source in Weisweiler? In: Aachener Zeitung . September 30, 2014, accessed October 23, 2014 .
  16. ↑ The latest measurements confirm legionella findings: Cologne district government calls on RWE to disinfect the cooling water. (No longer available online.) Cologne District Government , October 28, 2014, archived from the original on October 30, 2014 ; accessed on October 30, 2014 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bezreg-koeln.nrw.de
  17. ↑ Block F switched off: Another legionella alarm at the Weisweiler power plant. In: WDR . December 3, 2014, accessed December 3, 2014 .
  18. ↑ Another legionella alarm at the Weisweiler power plant. In: WDR . December 3, 2014, accessed March 23, 2015 .
  19. ↑ Weisweiler: Almost no more legionella. In: Aachener Zeitung . January 6, 2015, accessed March 23, 2014 .
  20. ↑ Fine dust sources and damage caused , Federal Environment Agency (Dessau)
  21. ↑ Assessment of Health Impacts of Coal Fired Power Stations in Germany - by Applying EcoSenseWeb (English; PDF; 1.2 MB) Philipp Preis / Joachim Roos / Prof. Rainer Friedrich, Institute for Energy Economics and Rational Use of Energy, University of Stuttgart , March 28, 2013
  22. ↑ Greenpeace: The ten most unhealthy coal-fired power plants in Germany ( Memento of the original from December 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 129 kB) @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.greenpeace.de
  23. ^ Dirty Thirty Ranking of the most polluting power stations in Europe . WWF, May 2007 (PDF)
  24. ↑ http://www.bund-nrw.de/themen_und_projekte/braunkohle/braunkohlekraftwerke/kraftwerk_weisweiler/
  25. ↑ PRTR - European Emissions Register
  26. ↑ PRTR regulation 166/2006 on the creation of a European pollutant release and transfer register and amending Council Directives 91/689 / EEC and 96/61 / EC
  27. ↑ Cost-benefit analysis of air quality policy , Clean Air for Europe (CAFE) program, European Commission
  28. ↑ a b Revealing the costs of air pollution from industrial facilities in Europe (Disclosure of the costs of air pollution from industrial facilities in Europe). European Environment Agency , Copenhagen, 2011