German utility E.ON has inaugurated a new gas and steam power plant with an installed capacity of 561MW in Bavaria, Germany.
Located in Irsching, the Ulrich Hartmann power plant has been in commercial operation since 22 July 2011.
The facility, which achieves an efficiency level of over 60%, has clocked up about 9,000 operating hours, a figure that includes the preceding period of trial operation.
E.ON Energie chairman Ingo Luge said plants like this one in Irsching are an essential milestone on the way to the energy supply of the future.
"Our commitment to the energy supply of the future does not just include generating electricity from the wind and sun, but also the integration of renewables in the distribution networks as well as decentralized generation from small-scale combined heat and power plants," Luge said.