Uniper (new thermal power generation subsidiary of German group E.ON) has initiated legal actions against the decommissioning ban of the 550 MW Irsching 4 gas-fired CCGT power plant in Vohburg (Bayern, Germany).
In March 2015, E.ON notified the German energy regulator Bundesnetzagentur (BNA) of its plans to shut down two CCGT units at its Irsching plant as of 1 April 2016, due to low wholesale electricity prices making the plants' operation no longer profitable. In September 2015, power transmission grid operator TenneT rejected the shut down in the interests of the supply security in Southern Germany.
Commissioned in 2011, Irsching-4 is fully-owned by E.ON, while the 846 MW Irsching-5 CCGT unit (commissioned in 2010) is owned by a consortium consisting of E.ON, HSE, Mainova, and N-ERGIE. Both units have operated during the past two years under a contract between the owners and the network operator, that will expire in March 2016. The plants supplied no merchant power at all in 2014 and were only used to stabilise the southern Germany grid at a price only covering operational costs. E.ON already mothballed 415 MW Irsching-3 in 2013.
Interested in Power Plants?
Enerdata has developed a market research service to screen, monitor and analyse the development of power generation assets.
Power Plant Tracker offers an interactive database and a powerful search engine covering power plants worldwide – including both installed and planned capacities for renewables and fossil fuels.