Germany To Build 25GW of New Gas Power plants
By Paul Homewood
While Tories and Labour fight over who can destroy the UK’s grid first, Germany is building a new gas fleet:
Germany will use auctions to ensure new gas power plants are built, which the government sees as necessary to secure supply at times when renewable energy does not deliver enough electricity, said economy minister Robert Habeck. “We will build the power plants we need for the times when wind and sun do not provide enough electricity out to tender,” said the minister at the presentation of a report on the progress of the country’s transition to climate neutrality. In recent years, Germany has used auctions to incentivise and control the expansion of wind and solar energy. Companies compete in these tenders to receive financial support for renewable electricity. “There are already instruments that we can use — and we will create more — so that by 2030 we will have created about 25 gigawatts of additional alternative capacity to coal-fired power plants.” These would be powered by natural gas, and later hydrogen “as soon as possible,” he said. His government would present a “power plant strategy” by the summer.
The government parties had said in their coalition agreement that several new gas power units are necessary to complement renewable electricity production, but Germany’s energy industry has long warned that companies have little incentive to build them. The plants would only be used when renewable energies do not supply enough electricity at peak demand periods, or at times when wind and solar is not sufficient. Keeping gas plants ready would have to be paid, instead of only the kilowatt hours produced.
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NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT 
Great idea!
Build two systems when one will do. Then give preference to the half-time useless one and pay the other to be idle.
I guess there are no other issues in Germany that are available to throw money at. (See: opportunity cost)
Powered by expensive LNG gas from the USA and Qatar? The reason why Germany has had a successful manufacturing economy is because of its access to reliable cheap Russian gas for decades.
At least they’ve realised that unreliable power from wind and solar cannot power the fourth largest economy in the world, unlike the UK politicians who seem determined to destroy what is left of the manufacturing industry.
And using the Open Cycle the gas usage will be about 75% higher than if they use the Closed Cycle (more efficient) approach. Unfortunately CCGTs are unprofitable on a Stop-Go basis, hence such plants in Germany shut down (even 2 of the newer one being dismantled and relocated to other less obsessed countries) and no-one in the UK wanting to build new ones.
Graeme, an OCGT can be very efficient if the aero-derivative type is used. There was a proposal for “Towers of power” in the 1970s that fed several OCGTs into a large chimney reducing the back-pressure on the engines. CCGTs are almost useless for short-term load following as they take hours to start and stop and the gas turbines are not as efficient as aero-derivatives and the cycling shortens the life of the plant dramatically. Sadly the UK ( as part of the deindustrialising policy) has given up on industrial gas turbines and even RR engines are bought through Siemens now!
@Jack Broughton
While OCGT’s can be synched after about 10 minutes, a CCGT hot start can start to synch its generators in about 1 hour. Both have a minimum stable generation at about 50% of full capacity. A CCGT can ramp at rates of 15MW/minute. It is incorrect to criticise CCGT for being useless for load following – they do it all the time.
It is true to say the gas turbines in a CCGT are not as efficient as an OCGT, but a CCGT is deliberately inefficient to obtain a high outlet temperature for the heat recovery steam generator. This gives the steam cycle higher efficiency, and and low gas turbine efficiency (high outlet temperature) is essential to achieving a combined efficiency in the region of 60% (LHV).
To give a counter example, low speed reciprocating engines have about 48%(LHV) efficiency without heat recovery, but this means the outlet temperature is too low for combined cycle operation. A heat recovery steam boiler and steam turbine can be added, but it adds very little power. Reciprocating engines in combined cycle are not effective because it costs so much to add the steam cycle for not much gain in total cycle performance.
Their days as the 4th largest economy are numbered as industry shuts down and relocates to China (because it is cheaper there) and the US (because Dementia Joe is chucking out wads of taxpayers cash).
The cost of running the gas stations when needed will be hugely expensive (if they are to be profitable).
They will have to be propped up with taxpayers cash so they can prop up the unreliable wind and solar generation that only exists because of taxpayers cash, and then because energy costs are so high the public have to be given some of their own money from taxation to prop them up…..I think that is how it works.
Smart thinking in Germany. We need to do the same here to ensure our base load requirements are available 100% of the time and provide cover for the winter days without wind and solar. Gas provides the cheapest, cleanest and most reliable option for electricity production. Fracking for local gas is the next logical step.
You gotta love those crazy Germans. Are these not the folks who laughed aloud at President Trump when he told them NOT to count on Russian nat gas? Where are they gonna get all this gas for the proposed power plants? And they lost me completely when the chimera of Hydrogen was mentioned as a fuel source for the new capacity. Whatever they decide, they must remember to NOT SKIMP on the Magic Unicorns for the H plants, like they did on the windmills. Live and learn, Germany.
Meanwhile good old coal is the largest supplier of electricity. At least they had the sense to mothball their plants rather than blowing them up in childish photo-ops for politicians.
Fuelled no doubt, by greenwashed natural gas as sold by Greenpeace.
[Their magic ingredient is as little as 0.32% hydrogen]
I do not understand your comment. Of course H is limited to under 2.0% to prevent embritelment of ferrous materials. Hydrogen is a total non-starter. This is but another chimera, like windmills and solar, pushed by green zealots. And of course, do NOT skimp on the Magic Unicorns.
It was an attempt at sarcasm. 😉
Please forgive my obtuseness, Joe. “My Bad” as the kids say.
No prob’s BD007. 👍
You skeptics are ridiculous.
‘Germany will use auctions to ensure new gas power plants are built’
Wait . . . what? How do auctions ensure?
Cirrusly, they say over and over that these new plants won’t be used much.
‘but Germany’s energy industry has long warned that companies have little incentive to build them’
Exactly. What magic will auctions produce?
I agree with Phillip Bratby. I wouldn’t get into any deal that relied on rates for revenue; I’d demand some sort of continuous payment, to ensure the business and to avoid the politics of huge rate charges.
And hydrogen.
“Aside from renewable energy expansion, grid development, ramping up the hydrogen economy and the transition in heating, the government is laying a clear focus on f&^%ing over industry.”
Fixed it.
‘As part of an upcoming industrial strategy, it aims to introduce “climate contract” subsidies to help companies switch to less climate-damaging ways of production, and to help industry get better direct access to cheap renewable electricity.’
Sorry, Heinrich, the companies will just move.
“Should we play these energy games with the government, or should we just move to Brazil?”
I think you will find the companies are already moving production to China including the great German car companies. Soon all that will be left of BMW in Germany is the museum in Munich.
Agreed, but the dispersion is more general, to places like Brazil and Mexico, as well as China.
@gezza BASF is moving out of Germany, even though Germany remains its most important market.
The reason given: high energy costs.
https://www.ft.com/content/f6d2fe70-16fb-4d81-a26a-3afb93e0bf57
What I find so bizarre is that Germany has somehow managed to make itself seem “environmentally friendly” when the reality (in “Green” measures) is that it is the sick man of Europe.
The “Sick man of Europe.” I love it. Can I use it?
By all means use it. Unsure of whether you are in Europe or not, but the term “Sick Man of Europe” used to be frequently levelled against the UK in the British media based (allegedly) on our industrial relations record of frequent strikes at one time.
I live in the U.S. in the State of Indiana. I am old enough to remember the labor strife in England back in the day. In the early 1980s I worked with a man who had recently emigrated the Chicago. He told me, “Unless you are a politician or part on the landed gentry you have no future in the UK.” His words, not mine.
At least they have some sort of plan in view. Contrast with what we just acquired by way of new capacity in the T-4 auction:
1.6GW CCGT
0.5GW Diesel generators
1.25GW Batteries
1GW Interconnector
0.1GW sundry small mainly renewables like waste.
In reality about 2GW of properly dispatchable generation – utterly pathetic.
Meantime, the UK has quietly appointed a new Minister for Nuclear and Networks.
https://www.gov.uk/government/people/andrew-bowie
Consider that “Nuclear and Networks” is uncomfortably close to the remit of the CEGB. Now, CEGB Mk II has a man sitting at the government table. Let’s not underestimate the significance.
It’s the latest step in the direction of state ownership.
In that vein, there has been a fair bit of press commentary about calls to get CEGB Mk II going in next week’s UK Budget. Keep an eye out, just in case there is a big announcement to tell us the Nuclear Cavalry is on it’s way. Phew! Maybe we will all be saved.
And not without irony, Andrew Bowie is a Scot, living in Aberdeenshire. The devolved Scottish Government has set its face against new nuclear power stations. Could be a little bit of politics going on there too as Torness will be next in line following the Heysham and Hartlepool announcement.
Here in the UK our energy policymakers do not think we need any backup for when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun isn’t shining. The energy flow diagram on p31 of “Mission Zero” and those of the NG ESO FESs 2035 and 2050 LTW show no backup at all. The “Key Statistics” in the FESs show about 2-3 hrs of grid scale backup.
Apparently backup is not required as the CCC believes 63% of Net Zero will be from “behaviour change” (learning to live in the cold and dark).
Live Life Intermittently™