Westerholt power plant
| Westerholt power plant | |||
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| location | |||
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| Coordinates | 51 ° 36 '4 " N , 7 ° 3' 50" E | ||
| country |
 Germany
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| Data | |||
| Type | Steam power plant | ||
| Primary energy | Fossil energy | ||
| fuel | Hard coal | ||
| power | 300 megawatts | ||
| owner | Mining company Hibernia AG, then VEBA → Kraftwerke Ruhr AG | ||
| operator | Mining company Hibernia AG, then VEBA → Kraftwerke Ruhr AG | ||
| Project start | 1958 | ||
| Start of operations | 1959 (Block 1) 1961 (Block 2) |
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| Shutdown | 2003 | ||
| Chimney height | 300 m | ||
The Westerholt power plant was a coal-fired thermal power plant in Gelsenkirchen-Hassel . The power plant consisted of two blocks, each with 150 megawatts , built in the 1960s . The power plant was shut down on May 13, 2003 and later demolished.
history
In 1959, the first 150 megawatt block of the power plant went online. The second 150 megawatt block follows two years later. Around 230 workers were employed in the power plant. On September 12, 1981, the topping-out ceremony of the 300 meter high chimney was celebrated. The chimney was 23.5 m at the base and 9.10 m at the top.
In 2001 the second block was decommissioned, and the first block followed in 2002. In its 43-year period, the power plant produced 63 billion kWh of electrical energy and 5 billion kWh of thermal energy (district heating and industrial steam). A good 28 million tons of coal were converted into electricity, almost everything from the Westerholt colliery.
Blowing up the chimney
The power plant had a 300 meter high reinforced concrete chimney , which was completed in 1981. At that time people tried to distribute the pollutants with a very high chimney over large areas. As early as the 1980s, desulphurisation of the flue gases was also mandatory for old power plants, soon afterwards also denitrification, i.e. the reduction of nitrogen oxides. Two electric compressors (10 kV motors) generated approx. 250,000 m³ (5 bar) of compressed air for a buffered air network.
The demolition was originally supposed to take place on November 12, 2006, but due to an objection from BP about their underground lines, this date was canceled and Sunday, December 3, 2006 10:56 am was later given as the new date.
The chimney was blown up by a so-called fold explosion (explosion in two levels). These two levels were 183 and 54 meters high. Since the middle part unexpectedly shattered the lower stump, further demolition and clean-up work was made easier.
The fact that the demolition was brought forward by three minutes at short notice caused anger among the numerous on-site spectators. Many visitors wanted to capture the demolition on photo and video. Even the WDR , which broadcast the event from 10:45 a.m., was still in the middle of an interview with the demolition manager at 10:52 a.m. and had to quickly switch the camera position to the collapsing chimney. The warning signal sounded very quietly at 10:46 a.m., the detonation took place at 10:53 a.m.
Reuse
A heating plant, the FWK Westerholt, has been in operation at this location since spring 2004. There six boilers secure the district heating network operated by Uniper Fernwärme in the northern Ruhr area.
Like the Westerholt colliery, which is only a few hundred meters away, it was named after the neighboring - at the time still independent - city of Westerholt (today Herten -Westerholt).