Energy Crisis

Germany’s Uniper to restart 875 MW coal power plant for 2022/2023 winter

heyden 4 coal power plant uniper restart

Photo: Uniper

Published

August 23, 2022

Country

Comments

0

Share

Published:

August 23, 2022

Country:

Comments:

0

Share

An 875 MW reserve coal-fired power plant Heyden 4, operated by Uniper, will again produce electricity for the market, from August 29 probably until the end of April 2023, to help Germany get through the upcoming winter amid the gas crisis.

Heyden 4 ended commercial operations at the end of 2020, and was slated for permanent shutdown on July 8, 2021, Uniper said. However, in June that year it was declared “systemically relevant” and became a reserve plant instead, according to a statement from Uniper, a German-based multinational energy company.

Heyden 4 became a reserve power plant in mid-2021

The company said that Heyden 4 could remain on the market for another year if deadlines under Germany’s law aimed securing energy supply are extended.

Russian gas crisis makes Europe restart old coal power plants

As natural gas shortages loom due to the war in Ukraine and reduced deliveries to Europe from Russia, the EU’s plans to phase out coal are being put on hold. Retired coal-fired plants are being fired up again, while closures of thermal power stations are being cancelled and open-cast mines are getting back to business.

In Austria, state-controlled energy utility Verbund has restarted its Mellach coal plant. The facility was switched to reserve over two years ago in a move advertised as ending coal use in the country. At the same time, the United Kingdom is postponing the closure of most of its coal power capacities, scheduled for this year.

The crisis is threatening decarbonization efforts in the Balkans

Such developments are threatening efforts in the Balkan region, as well as around the world, to phase out coal and decarbonize energy production.

Comments (0)

Be the first one to comment on this article.

Enter Your Comment
Please wait... Please fill in the required fields. There seems to be an error, please refresh the page and try again. Your comment has been sent.

Related Articles

EU electricity market design reform temperate positive step

EU’s electricity market design reform deemed as temperate, positive step

17 March 2023 - In its usual manner, the European Commission has come up with middle-of-the-road solutions for its electricity market design reform

smr-small-nuclear-reactor-energy-nea

NEA launches SMR Dashboard to track small nuclear reactor development

17 March 2023 - Small modular nuclear reactors can reshape the energy market and help the world reach net zero emissions by 2050, NEA says

Romania-Hidroelectrica-partners-Masdar-renewables

Romania’s Hidroelectrica partners with Masdar to develop renewables

17 March 2023 - Hidroelectrica established a joint venture partnership with Masdar from the United Arab Emirates for the development of renewable energy projects

Number prosumers Albania one thousand

Number of prosumers in Albania surpasses one thousand

16 March 2023 - The number of prosumers with solar power panels on the electricity distribution network in Albania has reached 1,025