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Released January 13, 2016 | GALWAY, IRELAND
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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Germany's second-largest utility, RWE AG (XETRA:RWE) (Essen, Germany), has sold its Lynemouth coal-fired power station in the U.K. to Czech energy company Energetický a Průmyslový Holding (EPH) (Prague).
The 420- megawatt (MW) plant, which was purchased by RWE in 2012, was sold for an undisclosed sum. The sale comes as RWE tries to offload loss-making fossil fuel-fired plants ahead of a planned restructuring that will see the company split its renewable energy and conventional power operations. Last week, Industrial Info reported that fellow German energy giant, E.ON SE (XETRA:EOAN) (Düsseldorf, Germany), had split its business operations into two in order to concentrate future investments on renewable energy. For additional information, see January 6, 2016, article - E.ON Splits Power Business.
EPH has been expanding its European portfolio in recent years. In January of last year, the company spent an estimated 500 million to 600 million euro ($560 million to $671 million) for E.ON's coal- and gas-fired power plants in Italy. The plantsy have a combined generating capacity of 4,500 MW. For additional information, see January 16, 2015, article - E.ON Sells Italian Power Plants.
Lynemouth, which has three operational units, was one of eight projects to receive a promise of financial support from the U.K. government in 2014 to help convert all three units for burning biomass. Last month, the European Commission approved the support package.
"U.K. support for the conversion of Lynemouth power station from coal to biomass complies with European Union (EU) state aid rules," it stated. "The Commission concluded that the project's contribution to the European renewable energy and CO2 emissions reduction targets clearly outweighs any potential distortions of competition that could be triggered by the state support."
The government support offered is called a Contract for Difference (CfD), which guarantees the plant a premium paid on top of the market price for electricity until 2027. According to estimates, the plant will be capable of generating about 2.3 terawatt hours (TWh) of low-carbon electricity per year.
The planned conversion will allow the plant to run exclusively on wood pellets. It will use approximately 1.5 million tonnes of pellets per year, mainly sourced from the U.S., Canada and Europe.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to europe@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
The 420- megawatt (MW) plant, which was purchased by RWE in 2012, was sold for an undisclosed sum. The sale comes as RWE tries to offload loss-making fossil fuel-fired plants ahead of a planned restructuring that will see the company split its renewable energy and conventional power operations. Last week, Industrial Info reported that fellow German energy giant, E.ON SE (XETRA:EOAN) (Düsseldorf, Germany), had split its business operations into two in order to concentrate future investments on renewable energy. For additional information, see January 6, 2016, article - E.ON Splits Power Business.
EPH has been expanding its European portfolio in recent years. In January of last year, the company spent an estimated 500 million to 600 million euro ($560 million to $671 million) for E.ON's coal- and gas-fired power plants in Italy. The plantsy have a combined generating capacity of 4,500 MW. For additional information, see January 16, 2015, article - E.ON Sells Italian Power Plants.
Lynemouth, which has three operational units, was one of eight projects to receive a promise of financial support from the U.K. government in 2014 to help convert all three units for burning biomass. Last month, the European Commission approved the support package.
"U.K. support for the conversion of Lynemouth power station from coal to biomass complies with European Union (EU) state aid rules," it stated. "The Commission concluded that the project's contribution to the European renewable energy and CO2 emissions reduction targets clearly outweighs any potential distortions of competition that could be triggered by the state support."
The government support offered is called a Contract for Difference (CfD), which guarantees the plant a premium paid on top of the market price for electricity until 2027. According to estimates, the plant will be capable of generating about 2.3 terawatt hours (TWh) of low-carbon electricity per year.
The planned conversion will allow the plant to run exclusively on wood pellets. It will use approximately 1.5 million tonnes of pellets per year, mainly sourced from the U.S., Canada and Europe.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Our European headquarters are located in Galway, Ireland. Follow IIR Europe on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn For more information on our European coverage send inquiries to europe@industrialinfo.eu or visit us online at Industrial Info Europe.
