Wolfsburg West power station
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Wolfsburg West power station is an operating power station of at least 288-megawatts (MW) in Volkswagen Wolfsburg facility, Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating. It is also known as Werk Wolfsburg West power station.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Plant name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Wolfsburg West power station | Volkswagen Wolfsburg facility, Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany | 52.441544, 10.765079 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the power station.
Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):
- GuD-West1, GuD-West2, Unit 1, Unit 2: 52.441544, 10.765079
Project Details
Table 2: Unit-level details
| Unit name | Status | Fuel(s) | Capacity (MW) | Technology | CHP | Start year | Retired year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GuD-West1 | Operating[1] | fossil gas: natural gas[2] | 144[2] | combined cycle[2] | yes[3] | 2022[2] | – |
| GuD-West2 | Operating[1] | fossil gas: natural gas[2] | 144[2] | combined cycle[2] | yes[3] | 2022[2] | – |
| Unit 1 | Retired[4] | coal: bituminous | 153 | subcritical | – | 1985 | 2024[4] |
| Unit 2 | Retired[4] | coal: bituminous | 153 | subcritical | – | 1985 | 2024[4] |
CHP is an abbreviation for Combined Heat and Power. It is a technology that produces electricity and thermal energy at high efficiencies. Coal units track this information in the Captive Use section when known.
Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details
| Unit name | Owner | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| GuD-West1 | VW Kraftwerk GmbH [100%] | Volkswagen AG [100.0%] |
| GuD-West2 | VW Kraftwerk GmbH [100%] | Volkswagen AG [100.0%] |
| Unit 1 | VW Kraftwerk GmbH [100%] | Volkswagen AG [100.0%] |
| Unit 2 | VW Kraftwerk GmbH [100%] | Volkswagen AG [100.0%] |
Project-level captive use details
- Captive industry use (heat or power): both
- Captive industry: Automobiles
- Non-industry use: both
Background
Wolfsburg West is a two-unit coal-fired power plant with a total capacity of 306 MW. The plant was completed in 1985, and is owned by Volkswagen.[5]
On March 8, 2018, Volkswagen AG announced it will invest €400 million (US$494 million) to modernize its Wolfsburg West and Wolfsburg North power station, converting them from hard coal to natural gas. The conversion is expected to be completed by 2022.[6]
In July 2019, an EPC agreement (engineering, procurement and construction) was awarded to Mitsubishi. The contract includes construction and commissioning and the delivery of two H-100 class gas turbines, two waste heat recovery boilers, two steam turbines and generators and ancillary systems. The new gas-and-steam plant, with a total output of 288 megawatts (MW) of electricity and approx. 265 MW of heat, will go into commercial operation in the fall of 2022.[7]
In January 2021, Bundesnetzagentur expected the conversion to be completed by the end of 2022.[8][9] However, as of November 2021, it is unclear if construction has begun on the project.
As of April 2022, due to energy security concerns in light of the war in Ukraine, no gas conversions had taken place. The company was unsure when the transition would happen, but Wolfsburg West would be converted before Wolfsburg North.[10]
In May 2022, Volkswagen stated that they would be prolonging the use of coal at the Wolfsburg North power station and Wolfsburg West power station. Though originally planned to be phased out by 2022, coal would remain in the fleet due to strained gas supplies.[11]
As of April 2024, following the commissioning of the gas-fired units, the coal-fired units at Wolfsburg West power station were taken offline.[12]
Articles and Resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20220519100435/https://www.waz-online.de/lokales/wolfsburg/vw-kraftwerk-wolfsburgs-wahrzeichen-laeuft-jetzt-mit-erdgas-PNMXZKRB7DD6FVZPIIMNCRXV6E.html. Archived from the original on 19 May 2022.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 https://web.archive.org/web/20220923080031/https://www.volkswagen-newsroom.com/en/press-releases/volkswagen-group-realigns-energy-supplies-company-power-stations-to-change-over-from-coal-to-gas-2108. Archived from the original on 23 September 2022.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20221013054323/http://bundesnetzagentur.de/DE/sachgebiete/Elektrizitaetundgas/Unternehmen_institutionen/Versorgungssicherheit/Erzeugungskapazitaeten/kraftwerksliste/kraftwerksliste-node.html. Archived from the original on 13 October 2022.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 (PDF) https://www.vw-kraftwerk.de/presence/dokumente/nachhaltigkeit/umwelterklaerung_kraftwerk_2023.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Coal-Fired Plants in Germany: Niedersachsen & Schleswig-Holstein," Industcards, accessed April 2016
- ↑ Ivana Kottasová, "Volkswagen will stop burning coal to build cars," CNN Money, March 8, 2018
- ↑ "MHPS Europe Receives Contract for New Gas-and-Steam Plant in Wolfsburg Volkswagen Modernizes Cogeneration Plant through Fuel Switch," MarketWatch, July 5, 2019
- ↑ "Veröffentlichung Zu- und Rückbau, BNA ID, BNA: BNAP210". Bundesnetzagentur. January 19, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Veröffentlichung Zu- und Rückbau, BNA ID, BNA: BNAP211". Bundesnetzagentur. January 19, 2021. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Los retos del Grupo Volkswagen: de la falta de microchips a la producción con energía que viene del carbón y el gas de Rusia," Motorpasion, April 11, 2022
- ↑ "Volkswagen is prolonging its use of coal due to Russian energy ‘threat’," CNBC, May 4, 2022
- ↑ "Umwelterklärung 2023," Volkswagen Kraftwerk, April 30, 2024
Additional data
To access additional data, including interactive maps of the power stations, downloadable datasets, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker and the Global Oil and Gas Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
