Jenbacher Engines Powering New CHP Plant

Utility company HanseWerk Natur GmbH and INNIO Jenbacher said that a natural-gas combined heat and power (CHP) plant has been commissioned at the existing district heating plant in Wahlstedt, Segeberg, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.

The start of operations at the new natural gas-powered CHP plant, which has an output of 4.5 MW, takes total electrical output of the Wahlstedt energy facility to 7 MW. Consequently, more than 10 000 households can be supplied with power in the Segeberg district. In addition, waste heat recovered within the CHP plant is fed into the region’s district heating network, thereby delivering heat and hot water to as many as 2300 residential properties and businesses.

“The overall efficiency of the new natural gas-powered CHP plant of more than 92% as well as its high operational flexibility help make the energy supply in Wahlstedt substantially more reliable. The plant thus represents another valuable component in the decentralized supply of energy in the state of Schleswig-Holstein,” said Dr. Gerta Gerdes-Stolzke, managing director of HanseWerk Natur GmbH, at the time of commissioning.

The Wahlstedt facility already has two Jenbacher biogas CHP plants as well as a biomethane CHP system. The commissioning of the new Jenbacher J624 gas engine at the start of the new heating season means that an existing boiler can be taken out of normal operations. Furthermore, the J624 engine’s short startup time of under five minutes allows peaks in electricity demand to be covered quickly and flexibly, the company said. For HanseWerk Natur, the investment increases the operating efficiency of the plant while at the same time reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

“With our Jenbacher gas engine technology, we are an integral part of the energy transition. Thanks to the high operational flexibility, our engines are an excellent complement to volatile wind and solar energy,” said Carlos Lange, President and CEO of INNIO, said. “In addition, more than 55% of our currently installed CHP fleet in Germany runs on renewable gases such as biogas and biomethane.”

The new CHP plant in Wahlstedt represents another important milestone in the collaboration between the Northern German utility company and INNIO Jenbacher, a partnership which has lasted over 20 years. A total of more than 70 Jenbacher gas engines are now in use in HanseWerk Natur power plants. In 2011, HanseWerk Natur became a certified service partner for INNIO Jenbacher gas engines in Germany, demonstrating the company’s expertise in this area of technology.