Galileïstraat Power Station
Since 1988 the combined heat and power plant on the Galileïstraat in Rotterdam has supplied the city of Rotterdam with heat, and part of the town of Capelle aan den IJssel. The combined generation of heat and electricity requires less energy from the fuel (natural gas) than with separate generation. The location is also ideal for any future expansion.
Generation
The natural gas is burned in the three turbines. Generators are linked to these turbines and these generate electricity which is supplied to the grid via a transformer at 150,000 volts. The burning of natural gas releases hot exhaust emissions. These are used to heat water to steam. This steam generates electricity via the steam turbine and the generator linked to it. Steam from the steam turbine is used for heating the water for the district heating system. This water is transported directly to the neighbourhoods or stored temporarily. Storage is in buffer tanks with a 12,500 m3 capacity. The STEG unit at the Galileïstraat is primarily deployed to supply heat. When heat demand is low, more energy from the steam is converted into electricity. If there is more demand for heat, less electricity is produced.
The steam and gas unit in the Galileïstraat is a start/stop operation. It is deployed when electricity demand is high and turned off when demand is low.
Environment
The combination of steam and gas turbines (STEG) means that the electrical yield is some 10% higher than with conventional installations. The total yield with this installation is determined by total energy production in terms of heat and electricity, divided by the energy input from the natural gas. This is around 25% higher than with separate generation of electricity and heat.