The most efficient gas turbine in the world at the time stood idle most of the time.
(Photo: press photo E.ON)
Ten years ago, Eon and Siemens inaugurated what was then the most modern gas and steam power plant in the world in Irsching, Upper Bavaria. The utility named the plant “Kraftwerk Ulrich Hartmann” after its former CEO, while Siemens contributed its new, particularly efficient “world record turbine” to the H-Class.
The euphoria at the opening was great. The improved efficiency should reduce the operating costs over the full term of around 30 years by a high double-digit million amount.
But nothing came of the dawn of a new era, in the following years Irsching stood still for most of the time. While renewable energies were promoted and depreciated coal and nuclear power plants supplied cheap electricity, production with gas did not pay off. It was one of the design flaws in the energy transition.
Since the trend in many places around the world was towards smaller, decentralized solutions, the large turbines from Siemens and other providers were only sold in small numbers. This is one of the reasons why Siemens finally parted with its now low-margin energy technology division. The new Siemens Energy is now considering whether to build a successor for the further developed HL class at all.
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The example shows that a lot of things were meant well in the energy transition, but not well done. The bill was often paid by private customers and medium-sized companies who could not fight for exemptions.
The new federal government now has to find the right middle ground in its plans. The dependence on Russian gas must not become too great. The further expansion of renewable energies to the planned 80 percent of the electricity mix by 2030 is not only the right step because of the fight against climate change.
Renewables alone do not cover the electricity demand
But it will not work with renewables alone. According to all experts, the demand for electricity will continue to increase in the coming years due to the shift to electromobility. At the same time, Germany is getting out of nuclear power and coal energy.
Efficient gas-fired power plants would actually be predestined for the times when it is dark or windless or when demand is particularly high. They can be ramped up from zero to full load in significantly less than half an hour. In addition, the CO2 emissions are significantly lower than with coal-fired power plants.
However, operating with 80 percent renewables will generally not pay off if they only serve as a buffer. The Federal Government must therefore work out a coherent concept as to how the provision of capacities can be rewarded.
More: From discontinued model to hopeful: turbine manufacturers hope for a renaissance of gas-fired power plants