Investment in the environmentally friendly electricity production

Vattenfall contributes a considerable contribution to the prevention of CO₂ emissions through closing down of old and modernisation of existing power plants. Through construction of new power plants with higher degree of efficiency the actual carbon dioxide emissions lie 25 percent lower than 1990.

Overall Vattenfall Europe Mining & Generation and its previous companies has invested about ten milliard euro in the new development of power plants and upgrading of the existing machines in power plants and mining areas – a big part of those in Lausitz.

The aim of the company is to reduce the overall CO₂ discharge of the whole Vattenfall group into 50% of the current figures by 2030. Alongside with the usage of the renewable energy, the development of environmentally friendly electricity production from brown coal is very important in this process.

CO₂ poor coal-fired power plant

Vattenfall, as an industry technology leader, invests 70 million euro in the construction of the first worldwide pilot CO₂ free coal-fired power plant in the region Schwarze Pumpe in Lausitz. In summer 2008 the power plant should be put into operation.  It is assumed to have a thermal capacity of 30 megawatt.

With the results from a three to four years research, demonstration power plants with ten times higher capacity will be planned and constructed till 2015. One of them with a 500 megawatt generating unit will be place in power plant Jänschwalde.

Oxy fuel process

In oxy fuel process carbon dioxide that is produced during burning is not released in the atmosphere, but is intercepted (over 90 percent) and fluidified. In this process the coal is burned not in the ambient air but in the atmosphere of re-circulated fumes and pure oxygen. Carbon dioxide can be separated from fumes by means of condensation and with the help of pressure fluidified. In this state it can be transported and stored deep under the earth surface or ocean bed for a long time.

Renewable Energy in Lausitz

Renewable energy also receives an increasing attention in Lausitz. Vattenfall, for example, plans to build additional wind plants as well as a biogas-unit. Power and heat supply station has been reliably producing “green electricity” for years.

Power and heat supply station is located in Sellessen, the district of the city Spremberg. It is planned to use the so far neglected biomass on the territory of the mining area for the production of electricity and heat. In addition here have been conducted the attempts to cultivate renewable quickly growing trees and plants, which can be used as a biomass. The power plant with the capacitance of 2,57 Megawatt producers yearly 20.000  megawatt electricity and 5.600 megawatt heat.