The new gas power plant with combined heat and power technology will be built on Stadtwerke Leipzig’s existing site on Bornaische Strasse and produce electricity and district heat for the city. It will have an electrical capacity of approximately 125 megawatts (MW) and a thermal capacity of around 163 MW. The plant’s maximum fuel efficiency will be 93 percent, thanks to the district heat production.
The order from Stadtwerke Leipzig covers the supply of two SGT-800 gas turbines, each with a maximum efficiency of 41 percent. The turbines are expected to be fired with natural gas, starting in late 2022, and be successively converted to the combustion of ever greater proportions of hydrogen. The long-term goal is to operate the plant with 100 percent green hydrogen, which can be produced from wind or solar energy by electrolysis. This will permit completely CO 2-free and climate-neutral plant operation.
“By investing in a new cutting-edge district heating power plant, we’re not only ensuring that the City of Leipzig will be supplied with electricity and heat in the coming decades,” said Karsten Rogall, Managing Director of Stadtwerke Leipzig. “We are also getting ready to actively pursue decarbonization. The ability to flexibly increase the share of hydrogen in the fuel is an excellent prerequisite for a sustainable and reliable power supply for Leipzig.”
