Herne combined cycle power plant ensures electricity and heating supplies in the Ruhr region
At the end of 2022, Iqony commissioned the new combined cycle power plant in Herne.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic and the associated disruptions to supply chains and global trade, the project was completed ‘on time and within budget’ – that is, according to the planned schedule and cost framework. The fact that the plant was commissioned at the end of 2022 as planned was a major achievement – and the result of the excellent and trusting collaboration with project partner Siemens Energy, as well as the high level of personal commitment from the many colleagues involved in the construction.
Now, the state-of-the-art and highly efficient plant is helping to ensure the security of electricity and heat supply in the Ruhr region. This is because the plant in Herne is one of the most modern combined cycle power plants in the world.
Technically, it could already co-fire up to 15 per cent hydrogen today. In this respect, the Herne CCGT represents an important technical bridge to a prospective climate-neutral energy future, in which hydrogen-capable (H2-ready) power plants ensure the provision of reliable power whenever wind and solar energy are not available in sufficient quantities.
However, even without the use of hydrogen, the Herne combined cycle power plant represents a major step towards the complete decarbonisation of electricity and heat supply. Thanks to its particularly high efficiency in combined heat and power (CHP) operation, the plant reduces CO2 emissions by at least 50 per cent during operation compared to hard coal.
Not least, this benefits the 275,000 households in the Ruhr region that are heated by district heating from Herne: their carbon footprint has improved significantly with the commissioning of the new power plant – and can be improved even further in the future once the plant can be gradually converted to partial operation using hydrogen.
Technically, the new Herne power plant thus serves as a model for the forthcoming and urgently needed expansion and construction of hydrogen-compatible gas-fired power plants, which, according to government plans, are to be built by around 2030 to replace the remaining coal-fired power plants. Iqony has demonstrated how this can be achieved technically at its Herne site.
First Power Injection from the Combined Cycle Power Plant into the Grid
Commissioning is drawing nearer: At the end of December 2021, the gas turbine at the new power plant was successfully started up. This was followed by grid synchronization and the first power injections. By mid-January 2022, 260 megawatts had been reached, approximately 40 percent of maximum capacity.
Start of Natural Gas Supply
In September 2021, the Herne combined-cycle power plant will be successfully connected to the Thyssengas natural gas transmission network. Prior to this, Thyssengas completed the planning and construction of the 23-kilometer pipeline in a record time of just two years.
Delivery of the gas turbine
After an eleven-day journey by water from Berlin to Herne, the 457-ton centerpiece reached its destination in late November 2020.
Herne 4 Makes Way for a Combined Cycle Power Plant
In March 2021, another milestone will be reached in the energy transition: STEAG is applying to decommission the Herne 4 coal-fired unit. Over the course of 2022, it is to be replaced by the new, state-of-the-art, resource-efficient combined cycle power plant. Herne 4 is to be converted into a natural gas-fired boiler to ensure the district heating supply.
Ready Steady Go: Initial work on the foundation of the new combined-cycle power plant is underway
In early February 2020, 777 concrete piles, each 15 meters deep, are waiting to be driven into the ground. In the future, they will support the foundation slabs for the turbine and generator. Now that the Arnsberg district government has approved the first construction phase, the team is getting started on the work.
Herne’s Energy Future Sealed
In July 2018, STEAG and Siemens signed the contract to build the new combined-cycle power plant in Herne.
