The Mainz-Wiesbaden 400 MW combined cycle power plant in Mainz, which replaces three coal fired units, was officially opened in March. The gas/oil fired plant, operated by Kraftwerke Mainz-Wiesbaden AG and built as a turnkey project by Siemens, is in the class of highly efficient and low emissions plants currently considered as state of the art – efficiency is rated at 58 per cent, NOx emissions are described as “extremely low” and flue SO2 content is claimed to be near zero. While operating with simultaneous extraction of process steam and supplying heat for district heating it achieves a utilisation factor of around 80 per cent.
