Coal phaseout at Stuttgart-Münster

Climate-neutral by 2035 – based on this promise, EnBW is committed to playing its part in mitigating climate change in line with the 2015 Paris Agreement. For EnBW, this partly means continuing to systematically expand renewable energy capacity, while also pursuing its aim of phasing out the use of coal in the medium term and the use of fossil fuels as an energy source in the long term. EnBW is one step closer to achieving this aim with the construction of a new gas turbine plant for generating electricity and heat based on more climate-friendly natural gas at its Stuttgart-Münster site. The fuel switch to more climate-friendly natural gas is just a bridging technology on the way to energy generation using green gases such as hydrogen produced from renewable sources.

Project diary

This is where we inform you about important events and milestones relating to the planning and construction of a gas turbine plant on the Stuttgart-Münster site. You will find the latest information here on the timetable for the planning and approval process as well as the progress of the construction work.

March 2023: Groundbreaking ceremony and official opening of the building site. The starting signal was given in Stuttgart-Münster for the construction of the new gas turbine plant and large-scale heat pump. Minister for the Environment, Climate Protection and Energy Sector for Baden-Württemberg Thekla Walker, Mayor Dr. Frank Nopper and the EnBW Board Member responsible for sustainable generation infrastructure Dr. Georg Stamatelopoulos performed the traditional groundbreaking ceremony on 31 March 2023.

February 2023: Start of foundation works. Foundation works create a stable and load-bearing basis for the buildings and machinery associated with the new plants. This covers groundwork such as the excavation of pits and the construction of the foundations, including pile foundations.

January 2023: Start of construction works at Stuttgart-Münster. The construction project got under way in Stuttgart-Münster on 9 January 2023 and work has been continuing ever since. The start of construction also sees the introduction of a temporary alternative traffic management concept:

A contraflow system for traffic traveling out of town at the intersection of Neckartalstraße/Voltastraße
Normal flow of traffic resumes at the intersection of Neckartal-/Haldenstraße
City-bound traffic uses the remaining lane with suspension of the cycle lane on Neckartalstraße

This traffic concept means that no major diversion is needed for car traffic. Cyclists are diverted via the Neckartal cycle path. This allows the routes at the Voltastraße intersection to remain open.

January 2023	Preliminary approval decision received and first partial approval
October 2022	Stuttgart Regional Council meeting to discuss the project
22 March 2022	Investment decision taken by EnBW’s Supervisory Board
7 February 2022	Approval application submitted
21 July 2021	Project presented to Bad Cannstatt council committee
23 April 2021	Scoping meeting⁰In complex planning processes, a scoping meeting is held by the authority overseeing the process (in this case Stuttgart Regional Council). With the involvement of public agencies and specialist authorities, the meeting is used to formally determine the subject, scope and methodology of the regional impact and environmental impact studies as well as the content of the application documents that need to be drawn up.
20 April 2021	Project presented to Münster council committee
13 April 2021	Virtual information event for the public
12 April 2021	Information event for professional associations and citizens’ initiatives