Draft permit Maasvlakte power station published
Rotterdam, 29 juni 2007 - From 28 June, the public can consult the draft permits for the construction of E.ON Benelux’s new 1.100 MW coal-fired power station. The permits can be viewed at the relevant addresses where they will remain on view for six weeks.
Construction of the new power station is needed to ensure the supply of electricity within the Netherlands. Recent years have seen a steady rise in consumption and according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) this trend is set to continue in the next several decades. Very few power stations have been built in the Netherlands during recent years. Hence, the country is even more dependent on imports which currently stand at 22%. In the meantime many European power stations are outdated and at the end of their life span.
New generation
Alongside ensuring availability of competitively priced electricity for Dutch consumers and industry, E.ON Benelux believes that this is a responsibility to the community as a whole - and that it must be done with a minimum impact on the environment and the climate. The power station features all available measures to minimise emissions of SO2, NOx and fine dust and complies with the strictest standards.
The Maasvlakte Power Plant 3 belongs to a new generation representing significant improvements in terms of today’s European power stations. Hence, the power station levers yield by operating at higher temperatures and pressures. Compared with the current generation the new power station will generate almost 20% more electricity per ton of coal. This also means an almost 20% cut per kilowatt-hour in CO2 and other emissions.
The replacement of outdated power stations with a new generation will enable an important contribution to European governments’ climate objectives. The new facility is ready to provide heat to local industry and homes as well as capturing CO2. In the new power station biomass can be co-incinerated, so that the firing of coal can be reduced.
E.ON research programme
Meanwhile, E.ON – one of the world’s largest energy companies – is working intensively on projects to enable the trapping and storage of CO2. E.ON has a worldwide involvement in this type of project, both independently and in partnerships. The Dutch CATO project, in which TNO (Applied Scientific Research Institute) and the University of Utrecht are some of the other participants, is a good example. During the coming fall a pilot plant will be built next to E.ON’s existing Maasvlakte power plant. Capturing solutions developed in TNO’s laboratories can be tested here on a larger scale.
E.ON ’s commitment to these projects is based on a conviction that sustainability is the key to providing the world with electricity. Carbon Capture Solutions is one of the ways of achieving this.
To this end E.ON’s research projects focus on both the traditional methods of generating power and the ongoing development of sustainable solutions such as wind power and biomass.
The licensing procedure
The draft permits have been prepared by the licensing authorities (Zuid-Holland Province and the Public Works Department) after E.ON Benelux had submitted an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The EIA commission has now evaluated this assessment. According to the evaluation E.ON Benelux meets all permit conditions and exercises all possible measures in line with current technology to protect the environment