E.ON has announced that it is planning to construct a new coal-fired power station in the Antwerp harbor area of Belgium. The new plant will cost approximately E1.5 billion to develop and will have a capacity of 1,100MW.
The new power plant will have an efficiency of approximately 46%. Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions will be approximately 25% lower than the average of the existing coal-fired plants in Belgium. The plant will also be carbon capture-ready. E.ON said that it is working on future technologies for capturing CO2 in order to realize coal-fired plants without CO2 emissions.
The site for the new plant was chosen because of its deep water facilities at Antwerp port. It is also close to big energy users like the chemical industry, making the location in Belgium very attractive. As a combined heat and power plant, the new power station also supplies both industry and households with steam and heat.
Wulf Bernotat, CEO of E.ON, said: Modern coal-fired power stations will continue to play an important role in a well balanced energy mix – side by side with gas, nuclear and renewable energy. We need to ensure our investments make a lasting improvement to the supply security, efficiency and environmental friendliness of Europe’s energy infrastructure.