Mellach power station

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Mellach power station is an operating power station of at least 165-megawatts (MW) in Neudorf ob Wildon, Steiermark, Austria with multiple units, some of which are not currently operating.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Plant name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Mellach power station Neudorf ob Wildon, Steiermark, Austria 46.90819, 15.49231 (exact)[1]

The map below shows the exact location of the power station.

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Unit-level coordinates (WGS 84):

  • Unit 1, Unit 3: 46.90819, 15.49231

Project Details

Table 2: Unit-level details

Unit name Status Fuel(s) Capacity (MW) Technology Start year Retired year
Unit 1 retired coal - bituminous 246 subcritical 1986 2020
Unit 3 operating[2] coal - bituminous, fossil gas - natural gas[2] 165[3][2] gas turbine[4] 2020[2]

Table 3: Unit-level ownership and operator details

Unit name Owner
Unit 1 Verbund Thermal Power GmbH & Co KG [100.0%]
Unit 3 Verbund Thermal Power GmbH & Co KG [100.0%]

Background

The 246 MW subcritical coal plant was put into operation in 1986. The addition of two 425-MW CCGT blocks at Mellach was approved in May 2008.[5]

The 246 MW coal unit is planned for retirement in 2020.[6] It was retired in April 2020.[7]

In 2019 Verbund launched the "Hotflex" pilot plant at this site in cooperation with Graz University of Technology and Sunfire to research hydrogen power.[8]

In the summer of 2022, the Austrian government voted on whether to temporality bring the coal-fired plant back online due to energy security concerns in light of the war in Ukraine. The country is one of the most vulnerable European nations to restrict Russian gas imports. In August, Parliament failed to obtain the two-thirds majority needed to reverse the coal phase-out. The Energy Minister called the decision "completely irresponsible". Until a negotiation occurs, the country must rely on limited gas supplies and hydroelectric generation that is also limited by ongoing drought.[9]

Articles and Resources

References

  1. https://zenodo.org/record/3349843. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Das VERBUND-Fernheizkraftwerk Mellach". www.verbund.com. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  3. https://transparency.entsoe.eu/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. "Verbund-Kraftwerk Mellach soll auf Kohle umgerüstet werden". news.ORF.at. 2022-06-19. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  5. ENTSO-E Transparency Platform, ID 14W-WGM1-M1----5 accessed November 2019
  6. "Austria to close coal plants by 2025, worth up to 1.5m tCO2e," ICIS, 23 November 2015
  7. "Nicht mehr für die Kohleerzeugung: GLOBAL 2000 ist ein historischer Tag für den Klimaschutz in Österreich," Global 2000, April 17, 2020
  8. Green Hydrogen for Gas Turbines in Mellach, FuelCellsWorks, 29 Mar 2019
  9. Austrian opposition keeps coal plants shut, for now, Euractiv, 24 Aug 2022

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of coal-fired power stations, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Plant Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.