The increase in the efficiency has resulted from the combination of diverse measures ranging from improved turbines and greater pressure to the utilisation of waste heat.
In Niederaussem in the Rhine coal-mining region, a lignite-fired power plant with optimised system technology (BoA) has been in operation since 2003. The BoA process increases the efficiency by almost 30% and emits fewer pollutants than, for example, Power Plant Unit E in Neurath, which dates back to the 1970s. The aim in particular is to reduce the specific CO2 emissions by up to three million tonnes a year by increasing the efficiency to more than 43%. It is also planned to reduce dust, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions by around 30%.
Two new lignite-fired power plants with optimised system technology (BoA) are also being constructed at the existing Neurath site in Grevenbroich. Following the first one in Niederaussem, these will be the second and third power plant units to be built using this worldwide cutting edge design. The two power plant units will each have a gross capacity of 1,100 megawatts and an efficiency of more than 43 per cent.
