EnBW Plans Compressed Air Energy Storage Plant And First German Marine Energy Plant
Karlsruhe/Hannover. EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG launches an innovation offensive for the further development of renewable energies and energy storage. Together with Voith Siemens Hydro Power Generation GmbH & Co. KG in Heidenheim and in partnership with the state of Lower Saxony, EnBW wants to develop the first German marine energy plant at a suitable location on the German North Sea Coast. In another project EnBW and the state of Lower Saxony want to construct a compressed air energy storage plant for storing regenerative energies on the basis of the latest technologies. The partners signed an appropriate agreement for both innovation projects on the 22 March 2006 in Hannover.
„Both pilot projects are trend-setting and unite innovational output in power engineering with our ambition to consistently further expand the renewable energies. EnBw thereby proves again its role as innovator. We are happy to have found strong partners in the state of Lower Saxony and Voith Siemens, who are implementing these future projects with us and we expect from both projects an important incentive for the energy-efficient and climate-friendly power generation“, said the chairman of the board of management of EnBW, Prof. Dr. Utz Claassen.
EnBW sees in the construction of compressed air energy storage plants near the coast a possibility for storing and for balancing fluctuating generation, triggered amongst others by future off-shore-wind parks. By the means of the spatial proximity of the compressed air energy storage plant to these wind parks an extension of the wind power would not load the electricity transmission network to the consumption focal point and to the alpine pump storage stations. Since in the currently available technology there is still substantial potential for development, the project aims, in co-operation with manufacturers and research establishments, quite essentially at the development and the construction of a new generation of highly efficient compressed air energy storage plants.
„Lower Saxony is traditionally an energy state. With both these innovative projects we are laying the foundation in our state for a new generation of power plant technologies“, thus the Lower Saxon Minister for Economic Affairs, Walter Hirche. „Lower Saxony is with the European-wide largest occurrence of storage possibilities in subterranean salt formations an ideal location for energy storage. We are also pinning our hope on the marine energy as the building block of a sustainable future energy supply", thus the minister.
Regarding the use of marine energy, EnBW sees the potential possible in Germany particularly in connection with coastal protection measures and harbour development projects. The crucial point of the project is first the development of a suitable location on the German North Sea Coast.
„EnBW expands with these projects its leading position in the area of renewable energies. This step is a logical continuation of our commitment to the hydropower and storage technology and an innovative step for increasing the efficiency of regenerative energy potentials“, thus the chairman of the technology managing board of EnBW, Prof. Dr. Thomas Hartkopf, who in this connexion refers to the on-going EnBW projects on the extension of the large hydropower in Rheinfelden and Iffezheim as well as to the construction of the alpine pump storage stations Kops II.
On this, Dr. Hubert Lienhard, chairman of the board of Voith Siemens: „Voith Siemens has secured for itself with the acquisition of the leading developer of wave power stations in Europe, Wavegen Ltd. in Scotland, a know-how leading edge on the way to the global use of marine energy for the generation of power. We see in a German reference project a substantial building block for the development of the world-wide market potential of this innovative technology."
EnBW Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG with its head office in Karlsruhe is with approximately five million customers the third biggest German electric power company. With approximately 17,800 employees EnBW obtained an annual turnover of 10,769 million Euros in the year 2005. The core activities of EnBW concentrate on the business segments electricity, gas as well as energy and environmental services.