The starting point for the electricity pricing is the wholesale electricity market in which the prices are determined in accordance with the short-term marginal costs of the power plants currently available in the generation system. The power plant that has to be deployed to cover any respective peak load therefore holds considerable significance in terms of the marginal cost-pricing rule, since its generation costs also determine the wholesale price for electricity. After a drop in prices in 2007, the electricity prices at the wholesale level increased sharply again in 2008. For example, the price for supplying base-load electricity increased by around 73% to €65.8 for 1,000 kilowatt-hours (= 1 MWh) and for peak-load electricity by around 66% to 79.4 €/MWh. This price hike is largely due to increases in fuel costs (gas and coal) and the impact of emission trading introduced on 1 January 2005.
Projects currently being funded
Materials of construction for steam temperatures of over 700 °C
Lignite drying
CO2 scrubbing (post-combustion capture)
CO2 storage facilities
CO2 capture in oxyfuel coal-fired power plants
Hydrogen gas turbines
Capturing CO2 using coal gasification
Micro gas turbines
Higher temperatures in turbines
Turbine combustion that produces lower amounts of harmful substances
Higher pressure and lower flow losses in turbines
CO2 compressors
International cooperation
Comparison of power plant systems
More efficient generators thanks to nanoparticles
Storing electricity using compressed air
High-temperature heat storage systems for flexible CCGT power plants
More flexibility for low-emission coal-fired power plants