E.ON makes definitive decision to invest in power station Maasvlakte
Rotterdam, 18 januari 2007 – In december 2006 the E.ON group has reached the definite decision for E.ON Benelux to invest some € 1.2 billion in a new 1.100 megawatt coal-fired power station on the Maasvlakte. In that period also the Supervisory Board of E.ON Benelux gave its approval to the investment decision.
E.ON Benelux will now fully concentrate on the process towards the realization of the investment. The application for the permit has been submitted in December. It is expected that construction can start in 2008. The power station will go on line in early 2012.
Need for new generation capacity
“The Netherlands has a definite need for new, affordable production capacity to cope with the upward demand and the close-down of obsolete power stations in the next several years,” says Joost van Dijk, chairman of the executive board of E.ON Benelux. “Moreover, we are confident in the Dutch business climate and the way we collaborate with the relevant government bodies. However, a point of concern is the connection to the national grid. It is certainly high time for TenneT, administrator of the Dutch electricity grid, to realize the Randstad 380-project.”
This connection necessary to ensure the (ongoing) supply of electricity within the main Dutch urban agglomeration (Randstad).The power station can be built on the site of the current power station – enabling the use of the existing infrastructure. The investment will definitely increase employment possibilities. It is expected to yield employment adding up to 2000 person-years for the company and supply industries in the Netherlands.
EIS and incense application
In December the application for the permit and the EIS or Environmental Impact Statement for the new Maasvlakte power station were submitted. The Zuid-Holland Provincial government has a maximum of 10 weeks to assess and publish the EIS. This means that the latest date for publication will be in March. Following publication date the EIS will be open for inspection by the public for six weeks.
Latest technology
The new Maasvlakte power station is part of a series of power stations which E.ON will build in the years to come. The technology for coal-fired power stations represents a strong improvement on existing coal-fired operations–enabling very tough environmental standards to be met. The firing process is around 20 percent more efficient. Benefits of the efficiency boost will include a 20% reduction of CO2 emissions per kilowatt hour compared with existing coal-fired power stations.
Furthermore the power station is being prepared for CO2 sequestration. At this time, the relevant technology is not economically available at this scale. In summer 2007 a joint test project will start up to this end, in conjunction with TNO, at the existing E.ON Benelux power station on the Maasvlakte. The new unit will also be readied for co-firing with biomass and supplying the surrounding area with heat. This could involve urban-heating and supplies to the market gardeners and industry.
E.ON is aware of the responsibility that comes with being an energy supplier. E.ON is taking a targeted approach to engineering key technologies within the scope of the international ‘innovate.on’ initiative. This includes next generation power stations, offshore wind farms and at biogas that matches the quality of natural gas.
More information on innovate.on here