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Modernisation of Stuttgart-Gaisburg thermal power plant

Over the next few years, the Stuttgart-Gaisburg combined heat and power plant will be fundamentally modernised in order to generate even more environmentally friendly and efficient heat for the Stuttgart district heating network. A considerably smaller, more efficient, and lower-emission gas-fired heating plant will replace the current combined heat and power plant, which is mainly coal-fired, and will fulfil the peak and reserve function important for the Stuttgart/Mittlerer Neckar district heating region.

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District heating: From the combined heat and power plant directly to the customers

District heating network for Stuttgart and the Mittlere Neckar Line

In a combined heat and power plant, useful heat energy is generated in addition to electrical energy in a coupling process. Because this is usually to be fed into a district heating network, combined heat and power plants are often located in urban conurbations with high heat requirements. The heat energy is routed directly to households and companies via district heating pipelines and supplies them with environmentally friendly and reliable district heating.

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How the new combined heat and power plant works

Functional diagram of the new combined heat and power plant

At the centre of the new CHP plant is the boiler plant, which consists of several boilers. Water is heated to very high temperatures in a closed circuit by burning natural gas or, in exceptional cases, light fuel oil. The hot water is then passed through heat exchangers. They transfer the high temperature to the water circuit of the district heating network. Houses and apartments in Stuttgart and along the Neckar River are supplied with heat.

Through the planned co-generation plant (CHP plant), the combined heat and power plant can also generate electricity in addition to heat: For this purpose, a combustion engine powered by natural gas drives a generator; the electricity generated can then be fed into the power grid. The heat of the engine and the exhaust gases is conducted through a heat exchanger and thus also used for the district heating network.

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Main technical data of the new plants at a glance

  • The thermal capacity of the planned boiler plant is 210 MW.
  • The new heat accumulator has a capacity of 300 MWh and a heat output of 70 MW.
  • The CHP plant with three gas generators has a total electrical output of about 30 MW and a thermal output of 30 MW.