E.ON invests more than € 240 million at Maasvlakte Power Station
Dusseldorf, Rotterdam, 2 November 2005 - E.ON announces its decision to invest € 176 million in lifetime extension measures at the Maasvlakte Power Station, owned and operated by E.ON Benelux. This will prolong the plant’s economic lifespan from 2012 to 2022. Given E.ON’s prior agreement for DeNOx installations, worth € 65 million, investments at the Maasvlakte Power Station will total more than € 240 million in the years to come. With these investments, E.ON clearly confirms its commitment to the Benelux market. E.ON is positive about further investments in The Netherlands, when the proper occasion arises.
The Maasvlakte Power Station comprises two units, each with a design net capacity of 520 MWe. Commercial operations started up in 1975. After some 60,000 operating hours the units were converted from natural gas/heavy oil to coal/natural gas in the late ‘80s. The converted units were designed to remain in operation until 2012. Since 2001, co-firing of biomass is an important extension of the operation. The Maasvlakte Power Station generated 325 GWh sustained produced electricity in 2004.
The investments allow E.ON Benelux to extend the lifetime of its Maasvlakte Power Station from 2012 to 2022. For E.ON, this means investing in a power station with an excellent track record. The strategically located units are adjacent to the North Sea and the Port of Rotterdam, with excellent logistical and infrastructural features.
Alongside the lifetime investments, E.ON Benelux also devotes € 65 million to new DeNOx installations for the Maasvlakte Power Stations. With its new DeNOx units (operational by 2006 and 2007) E.ON will substantially reduce NOx emissions by 7.500 tons per year.