RWE announced on 29 September that it is to restart three lignite firing units that were previously on standby under the country’s policy to cut down on the use of fossil-fired electricity generation. The restart, which will take place in the coming days, is in response to orders from the German government, RWE said.
The three units – Neurath C and Niederaussem E and F – have capacities of 292 MW, 295 MW and 299 MW respectively. Under the present plan they will be deployed until 30 June next year.
All three had been listed as reserve power plants, and had been originally expected to shut down permanently by next fall.
The plants were identified in May to be brought on line, along with idle or due-to-close lignite, hard coal and oil-fired capacity operated by RWE and other utility companies in case gas supply was disrupted – an eventuality that has since become a reality owing to the war in Ukraine. It is anticipated that Germany could need up to 80 GW in mid-winter to meet electricity demand.
