Stadtwerke Kiel (Kiel public utility company) has ordered a gas engine heating power plant (GHKW) with combined heat and power generation from general contractor Kraftanlagen München (KAM) and its partner, GE’s Jenbacher Gasmotoren. It consists of 20 gas engines with 9.5MW electrical each and a total output of 190MW electrical and 192MW thermal. The system sets new standards with regard to flexibility, efficiency and environmental sustainability.

With the signing of the contract on 3 August, Stadtwerke Kiel placed an order for the implementation of a succession solution for the community coal-fired power plant that is located on the eastern shore of the Kieler Förde inlet in northern Germany and will be shut down in the next few years. Next to it, a state-of-the-art and quickly controllable gas-fired power plant is being built that will reliably supply the city with electricity as well as heat, and also store the surplus energy or feed it into the national grid.

Due to the region’s high share of wind power in the grid, the new solution requires a power plant that can be used flexibly. The planned, quickly controllable GHKW can reach the nominal output of 190MW within five minutes of being started up. During operation of the power plant, a district heating demand of 192MWth is covered or the surplus heat is stored. Because of its modular type of construction, the power plant is able to react to the requirements of the energy market at any time and it can balance out grid fluctuations.

The combined heat and power generation system features a very high degree of primary energy utilisation (more than 90%) and an electrical efficiency of 45%. Commercialisation of the control energy and integration of an electrode boiler (power-to-heat) in times of low energy costs are an extremely flexible and efficient solution. This solution ensures the supply of the region as well as efficiency during operation.

The new GHKW will be a trendsetting example for the successful implementation of the energy transition through the use of highly efficient cogeneration plants. With low pollutant emissions, the system will remain far below the values required by Europea guidelines.

The contract from Stadtwerke Kiel is divided into two parts. The first phase of the project includes engineering and erection of the pump hall needed for connecting to the district heating network, the electrode boiler and the thermal storage as well as planning anobtaining the operating permit for the entire system including the gas engines. The start of the second phase, which comprises of the erection of the gas engine power plant, is scheduled to begin in May 2016.

The contract for this trendsetting power plant project once again serves as proof of KAM’s leading technological know-how and its ability to innovate as general contractor.