Phasing out coal in Germany with CHP plants running on biomethane
The German city of Hanover and energy service provider enercity have taken a major step toward their goal of climate-neutral electricity and heat generation with the launch of two combined heat and power (CHP) plants from INNIO Group. Each 20 MW plant, equipped with five Jenbacher engines, runs on biomethane. They spring into action during peak hours when too little renewable energy is available on the grid, marking an important step in the area’s energy transition.
A major celebration was held when enercity, one of Germany's largest municipal energy providers, officially opened Germany’s largest biomethane CHP plant to date at the Hanover-Herrenhausen site in June 2024 with Mayor Belit Onay in attendance. There was plenty of reason to celebrate: The Jenbacher CHP plant from INNIO Group represents an important step toward phasing out coal and the energy transition for heating has ultimately made the Lower Saxony capital a national role model for other German cities.
The two ultra-efficient INNIO Group Jenbacher biomethane CHP plants are a milestone for the phasing out of coal in Hanover. We have the excellent cooperation of all stakeholders to thank for the fact that these pioneering projects have been installed so quickly.
The Hanover milestone was soon followed by another opening ceremony. At the enercity site in Stöcken, a borough of Hanover, an identically constructed Jenbacher biomethane CHP plant was opened, also with five flexible, ultra-efficient Jenbacher engines with an output of 20 MW. Both plants generate electricity and heat during peak hours using biomethane, a renewable gas obtained from processed biogas and distributed via the natural gas grid. The plants’ overall efficiency exceeds 90%.
By quickly balancing the variable electricity production from wind and solar power, the two flexible Jenbacher CHP plants make it easier to integrate renewable energy sources that are not always readily available. The waste heat generated during electricity production is used by enercity for the direct supply of heat or is stored on site in its district heating storage tank. When there is a surplus of renewable electricity, it is converted into district heating in the neighboring power-to-heat plant and fed into the district heating grid.
Danpower subsidiary BEH Bioenergie Hannover was commissioned by enercity to construct the two biomethane CHP plants. Despite global challenges and supply bottlenecks due to the war in Ukraine, the pioneering projects were completed in less than two and a half years, from planning to successful commissioning.
If we can achieve the energy transition in heating, then we can achieve the energy transition as a whole – and by the same token, the basis for a future worth living. We are pleased to be able to demonstrate how this vision is already becoming a reality with our Jenbacher technology.
