Vattenfall Wärme AG, Germany: Highly efficient CHP plants for Berlin

In October 2017, the foundation stone was laid for the construction of the combined heat and power plant on the “Allee der Kosmonauten” in Berlin. The modern combined cycle plant provides East Berlin with climate-friendly, reliable district heating and electricity for decades.

Berlin is the first German federal state to phase out brown coal and use only low-CO₂ energy sources for new construction projects. Starting in 2020, the new plant in Berlin-Marzahn provides district heating and electricity from combined heat and power (CHP) for approximately 150,000 residential units. Along with the gas-fired plant in Klingenberg, it supports the district heating supply in the eastern part of Berlin for a total of 450,000 households.

The tender was in 2014, the ground-breaking ceremony a good three years later. In 2020, the new CHP plant in Marzahn is scheduled to go into commercial operation. Division Manager Generation Gas + Harald Flügel has given us all the figures, data and facts about this project for the district heating supply.

Mr. Flügel, we are here on the construction site for the new CHP plant in Marzahn. What exactly is being constructed here and what are your goals?

The new combined cycle power plant based on gas is being built here in Marzahn and it represents a further step in implementation of the climate protection agreement that we signed with the city of Berlin in 2009 to reduce CO2 emissions by 50% by 2020. With the coal phase-out as we approach 2030 and fossil-free generation as we approach 2050, we are entering a new era with a long-term perspective with this modern plant.

How many users can be supplied with the plant?

The plant will have an electrical output of about 270 MW with a simultaneous thermal extraction of 230 MW and thus represents the backbone for the district heating supply in the eastern part of Berlin. Especially in the eastern part, we have around 450,000 district heating users, who are supplied by the Klingenberg site and primarily in base load from the site in Marzahn.

How quickly can the power plant react to the strongly fluctuating power demand?

With the influence of renewable energies and their fluctuating feed, we have a flexible system here that can quickly change its electrical and thermal output. The plant features high load change speeds. It can adapt to market conditions, while meeting 100% of the demand from our district heating users.

Everyone is talking about decentralized power generation. Why do we still need a central power plant of this size and type like here in Marzahn?

I think the mix will be decisive for the future. There will be an expansion of the decentralized supply. But even a facility such as here in Marzahn will be necessary. In fact, we have around 1.5 million district heating users in the capital who want to be supplied efficiently as needed in the future as well.

The plant here in Marzahn is an important location for the eastern part of Berlin for the district heating supply. This modern facility is of course a further step in the progress of the energy transition, which we are now pushing in this city.

The logistics requirements in industrialized countries with a highly-developed infrastructure are often very high. With a lot of planning and coordination work, we were able to deliver the components to the construction site in Marzahn on the target date and assemble them there. Commercial operation started in 2020.