- HanseWerk’s Combined Heat and Power 10-Megawatt Plant Can Generate over 76 Million Kilowatt-Hours of Electricity and up to 80 Million Kilowatt-Hours of Heat per Year
- Will Produce Power for 21,500 Households and Heat for 6,000 Average Single-Family Homes in Germany
- Plant’s CO2 Emissions to be Cut by Approximately 60 Percent, Amounting to More than 11,000 Tons Less CO2 Annually
HAMBURG, GERMANY-November 11, 2015-GE (NYSE: GE) and HanseWerke Natur announced today that Hamburg’s Environmental Senator Jens Kerstan inaugurated the largest, most powerful combined heat and power (CHP) plant in the Hamburg metropolitan region. In the future, the plant will produce environmentally friendly power for 21,500 households and heat for 6,000 average single-family homes in Northern Germany.
By opening the new CHP plant in Stapelfeld, HanseWerk Natur and GE, which manufactured the engine, contribute significantly to achieving the goals of environmental protection and to stabilizing the grid in the Hanseatic City. HanseWerk Natur invested 6.8 million Euros in the new power plant.
“Decentralized energy plants play a key role in the energy transition. They provide efficient power generation at or near the point of use," said Udo Bottländer, director of Human Resources at the HanseWerk group. “By further developing CHP and implementing such innovative projects, the HanseWerk group is putting an important component of the energy transition into practice in the Hamburg metropolitan region."
The innovative CHP plant has an electrical output of nearly 10 megawatts (MW) and can generate over 76 million kilowatt-hours of electricity as well as up to 80 million kilowatt-hours of heat per year. As at other plants, HanseWerk Natur relies on the cooperation with GE. The centerpiece of the plant is the Jenbacher J920 FleXtra gas engine. This model is the most powerful and efficient gas engine ever developed by GE. To date, eight J920 FleXtra gas engines have been delivered worldwide. Using an innovative plant concept in which the waste heat of the engine is fed back into the heat circulation for efficient use, the plant’s overall efficiency can be increased significantly to over 95 percent. This allows CO2 emissions to be cut by approximately 60 percent compared to generating power and heat separately. This amounts to more than 11,000 tons less of CO2 annually.
“By implementing our flexible and powerful gas engine technology, we are pleased to have made a vital contribution to the HanseWerk group’s largest combined heat and power plant in Northern Germany,” said Oliver Klitzke, Executive Operations GE Germany. “HanseWerk Natur and GE have been working together intensively for many years on the further development of CHP plant technologies as well as its services concepts. The overall technical concept of the plant in Stapelfeld sets a new benchmark in the areas of efficiency and flexibility.”
The flexible gas engine in Stapelfeld is very well-suited for grid stabilization. The increasing number of regenerative power generation plants is creating too much power on days with plenty of wind and sun and too little power on days with little wind or sun, representing particular challenges for the power grid. HanseWerk Natur will therefore integrate the new CHP plant into its virtual power plant, which already consists of 65 CHP plants.
As part of the virtual power plant, CHP plants operate interconnected to respond quickly to a surplus of electricity in the network (negative operating reserve). If there is a power shortage, the CHP plant in Stapelfeld is able to feed energy into the grid within five minutes (positive operating reserve).
“This allows us to make a significant contribution to the stability of power supply in the Hamburg metropolitan region,” said Thomas Baade, CEO of HanseWerk Natur. “The high versatility of the new plant is crucial for this project.”
HanseWerk Natur
HanseWerk Natur GmbH, a wholly-owned subsidiary of HanseWerk AG, is one of the largest regional providers of heat and decentralized energy solutions in Northern Germany and has decades of experience as a heat supplier. HanseWerk Natur is one the largest operators of environmentally sustainable combined heat and power plants in Northern Germany. Around 200 decentralized plants serve the company in Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania and Northern Lower Saxony. In addition to decentralized energy production, HanseWerk Natur is actively encouraging the future of energy with innovative projects. A few examples include highly efficient CHP plants with an efficiency coefficient of nearly 100 percent, virtual power plants for the generation of operating reserves, or the hybrid model, a combined heat and power plant with a combined heating network designed to retain excess heat or to extract heat when additionally required. The company’s district heating networks total more than 900 kilometers in length. Using heat connection networks and numerous CHP and heating plants, HanseWerk Natur reliably supplies residential buildings, public facilities and commercial operations in Northern Germany, 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.
About GE’s Distributed Power Business
GE Power’s Distributed Power business is a leading provider of engines, power equipment and services focused on generating power at or near the point of use. Distributed Power offers a diverse product portfolio that includes highly efficient, fuel-flexible, industrial gas engines generating 100 kW to 10 MW of power for numerous industries globally. In addition, the business provides life cycle support for more than 35,000 gas engines worldwide to help you meet your business challenges and success metrics- anywhere and anytime. Backed by our authorized service providers in more than 170 countries, GE‘s global service network connects with you locally for rapid response to your service needs. GE’s Distributed Power business is headquartered in Jenbach, Austria.
About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) is the world’s Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the "GE Store," through which each business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect. Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry. www.ge.com
About GE Power
GE Power is a world leader in power generation with deep domain expertise to help customers deliver electricity from a wide spectrum of fuel sources. We are transforming the electricity industry with the digital power plant, the world’s largest and most efficient gas turbine, full balance of plant, upgrade and service solutions as well as our data-leveraging software. Our innovative technologies and digital offerings help make power more affordable, reliable, accessible and sustainable.
For more information, visit the company's website at www.gepower.com.
For more information, please contact:
Susanne Reichelt
GE Distributed Power
+43 664808332382
Corporate Communications
HanseWerk Natur GmbH
+49 (0) 41 06-6 29-34 22
Susanne Reichelt
GE Power
[email protected]
+43 5244 600 2382