Energy for the Ruhr Area
Gelsenkirchen-Scholven has been an important industrial location for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia for over 100 years. The Scholven colliery was sunk in 1908. This also marked the birth of the Scholven power plant. Initially, the power plant only produced electricity to supply the colliery. But as time went on, more and more industrial customers were added, making Scholven Germany's largest coal-fired power plant and one of the largest in Europe during the mid-1960s. This has always been the heart of the Ruhr area.
Even today, the Scholven power plant and the Buer district heating power plant make a major contribution to security of supply in the European electricity network. Scholven power plant and its associated production locations in Gladbeck-Zweckel, Marl, Recklinghausen and Westerholt are reliable suppliers of electricity, district heating and process steam for the region. The three units B, C and CHP generate 762 MW (net) of electricity. Units D, E and F were taken out of service at the end of 2014. Additionally, up to 250 MW are generated in the form of steam for the surrounding industry and district heat for more than 100,000 homes in the region. For the industry in the northern Ruhr area Scholven power plant is a reliable partner for the supply of process steam, electricity and compressed air. Together with its customers, it contributes significantly to the economic success of the region.
Scholven B | Scholven C | Buer CHP | |
---|---|---|---|
Location | Gelsenkirchen (Northrhine-Westphalia) | Gelsenkirchen (Northrhine-Westphalia) | Gelsenkirchen (Northrhine-Westphalia) |
Commissioned | 1968 | 1969 | 1985 |
Electrical net output | 345 MW | 345 MW | 70 MW |
Fuel | Hard coal | Hard coal | Hard coal |
Planned project
Uniper intends to replace the existing coal-fired plants at the Scholven site, whose service life is gradually coming to an end, with natural gas-fired plants in the future.
In order to maintain the location and secure jobs - also in the surrounding industry - the location is to be developed with natural gas in a future-proof manner in order to be able to continue to guarantee the supply of the surrounding industry with electricity and steam as well as the supply areas of Uniper Wärme GmbH with district heating.
In order to connect the Scholven power plant site to the natural gas pipeline network of Open Grid Europe GmbH in the Dorsten area a new gas pipeline was built.
Construction work on the combined heat and power (CHP) plant with two gas turbines and a steam boiler at the Scholven site is scheduled to begin in 2019 and to be completed by 2022. The conversion of the site to gas will not only reduce emissions of substances such as CO2 massively. Noise pollution from the plant itself and from supply trucks will also be significantly reduced, as the gas can in future be delivered by pipeline.
Further information on this project can be found on the dedicated web-page.
- Information on the Scholven CHP plant project (in German only)
Documents (German only)
Information Emissions and Co-firing (German only)
Lorry traffic without exemption
Only via the East Gate and only from 07:30 h until 13:00 h.
Address: Feldhauser Straße 150, 45896 Gelsenkirchen
Satnav-Coordinates: 51.604595 N 7.008686 E