News | Headlines Ørsted shuts down last coal-fired CHP
Denmark Emissions abatement On 31 August, Ørsted shut down its last coal-fired combined heat and power plant, Esbjerg Power Station, located in the Western part of Denmark.
In the past Ørsted was one of the most coal-intensive energy companies in Europe, but starting in 2006 the company has been reducing its coal consumption significantly through a reduction in the number of heat and power plants as well as conversions to certified sustainable biomass instead of coal. Now, with this shutdown, Ørsted’s entire energy generation will be essentially fossil-free. Ole Thomsen, senior VP and head of Ørsted’s Bioenergy business, commented: “Shutting down the last of our coal-fired heat and power plants marks the end of a chapter in our green transformation. The Danish authorities ordered us to continue operations at Esbjerg Power Station until 31 August to ensure the security of
the electricity supply. Naturally, we complied with the order, but we believe that we, as a society, must phase out the use of gas, oil, and coal as soon as possible, and … we are [now] well on track to becoming the first major energy company to completely transform its energy production from fossil fuels to renewable energy.”
The yearly consumption of coal at Esbjerg has been approximately 500 000 tonnes. Shutting down Esbjerg is the last major step in Ørsted’s progression towards meeting its target of a 99% green share of energy generation by 2025. The company had already reduced its emissions intensity by 92 % from 2006 to 2023, and was the first energy company with a science-based net-zero target. Going forward, the lost power production will be covered by other power plants and wind and solar farms, and the local heating supply company in Esbjerg is establishing an alternative production
capacity for delivering district heating to the municipality of Esbjerg.
In order to ensure the security of the electricity supply in Denmark, the Danish authorities decided in October 2022 to order Ørsted to continue and resume operations at three of its power station units that were oil or coal fired.
These were unit 3 at Esbjerg and unit 4 at Studstrup power station, which both use coal as their primary source of fuel, and unit 2 at Kyndby peak load plant, which uses oil as fuel. The two latter units had already been decommissioned.
Ørsted still has coal as a reserve fuel at Studstrup unit 3, while a large wood pellet silo is being rebuilt after a fire. The company expects to have the silo ready again before the end of 2024, and at that point Ørsted will no longer either have or use coal as a reserve fuel.
RESS4 procures 1.3 GW of new renewables projects Ireland Finance
Following the provisional results of Ireland’s Renewable Electricity Support Scheme 4 (RESS4) auction, announced on 9 September, the power analytics provider Aurora Energy Research has identified several key highlights. RESS4 was surprisingly successful, procuring 960 MW of solar PV and 374 MW of onshore wind at an average generation-weighted price of €96.85/MWh. This success was likely due to the expansion of eligibility requirements, allowing projects under judicial review to enter the auction,
After the lack of success in RESS3, the improvement in RESS4 makes the CAP24
(Climate Action Plan 2024) capacity targets, as well as both the CCAC (Climate Change Advisory Council) and EU carbon budgets, seem more achievable.
Qualification volumes were still lower than expected, with the original procurement target of 2500 GWh to 4500 GWh reduced to 1300 GWh to 2500 GWh prior to the auction, resulting in a (provisionally) successful procurement of 2071 GWh. Ireland is still falling short of the 80% renewable generation target by 1.9 TWh, assuming offshore wind projects deliver as expected, which is prone to its own uncertainties. This puts pressure on Purchase
Agreement backed projects and the early delivery of RESS5 to meet the generation target. Steph Unsworth, senior Research Associate at Aurora Energy Research commented: “This auction was surprisingly successful, procuring four large scale onshore wind assets amounting to 1.1TWh, despite concerns over the reduction to the auction cap price rendering onshore wind uneconomic. “Despite a lower all-projects average price than [at] RESS3, an average price of €104.76/ MWh for solar PV and €90.47/MWh for onshore wind indicates that this auction cleared close to the respective cap prices for these technologies.“
Updated DNV standard for wind turbine loads
Worldwide Wind power On 3 September DNV announced the launch of a new comprehensive standard for wind turbine load calculations and site assessments. It has been created to guide industry stakeholders through the rapidly evolving wind energy landscape. The standard includes detailed instructions on requirements, principles, and guidelines for the assessment of site conditions and the establishment of loads on wind turbines including support structures. Recognising the growing challenges associated with load calculations and site condition assessments for wind turbines, DNV has taken the initiative of publishing a new standard – DNV-ST-0437 – that caters to both
onshore and offshore applications. It includes practical project insights and enhancements to International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards. These additions cover wind extrapolation, tropical cyclones, sea/lake ice, seismic activity, and the impact of seagoing vessels. Advanced methodologies for load modelling, such as machine learning-based surrogate models, wind turbine clustering methods, and probabilistic-based design principles, are also included.
Kim Sandgaard-Mørk, executive VP for Renewables Certification, Energy Systems at DNV said: “Stringent industry standards are essential for ensuring the safety, reliability, and performance of wind turbines. They allow manufacturers, developers, and financiers to
8 | September 2024 |
www.modernpowersystems.com
evaluate designs and make informed decisions for successful projects. DV-ST-0437 aims to equip industry stakeholders with the necessary tools and guidance to navigate the complexities of wind turbine load calculations and site assessments in more environments and configurations than before, contributing to the continued growth and success of the wind energy industry by maintaining the highest degree of safety and performance.” According to DNV’s ‘Energy Transition Outlook’ wind energy will provide nearly 50% of on-grid electricity in Europe and 40% in North and Latin America by 2050. Wind capacity is expected to grow nine-fold, with onshore wind increasing seven-fold and offshore wind expanding 56-fold.
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