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Hamburg is taking a significant step toward decarbonizing its district heating network. The new gas and steam turbine facility located at the Hafen energy park is nearing completion and is expected to begin feeding heat into the city’s grid before the end of this year.
Transition from Coal to Gas
The construction of the new facility, situated directly adjacent to the A7 motorway, has faced several delays but is now in its final stages. On Monday, representatives from Hamburger Energiewerke expressed satisfaction with the progress. The site visit was attended by Hamburg’s Senator for the Environment, Katharina Fegebank (Green Party), and her counterpart from Schleswig-Holstein, Tobias Goldschmidt (Green Party).
For Schleswig-Holstein, the closure of the Wedel plant is a long-awaited development. "I believe I have regularly annoyed my colleagues from Hamburg because, naturally, the people in Schleswig-Holstein want the Wedel plant to be taken off the grid as quickly as possible," said Tobias Goldschmidt. He emphasized that maintaining the oldest coal-fired power plant in Germany within his state no longer aligns with modern climate protection goals.
Ensuring Supply Security
Despite the progress at the Hafen energy park, the Wedel coal power plant will remain operational throughout the coming winter. Kirsten Fust of Hamburger Energiewerke explained that the priority remains the security of the city’s heat supply. "We cannot simply flip a switch," Fust stated. "Therefore, Wedel will continue to operate in parallel over the winter and will be taken off the grid at the end of the heating season."
If all technical milestones are met, the final shutdown of the Wedel coal power plant is scheduled for July 1, 2027.
Ongoing Infrastructure Projects
The transition is part of a broader effort to modernize Hamburg’s energy infrastructure. Other projects include the construction of a new heat storage facility on the site of the Tiefstack coal power plant, where construction work officially began on Wednesday. These initiatives are critical components of the city’s strategy to move away from coal-based energy production.
Source: NDR.de
