Siemens has begun work on the turnkey erection of the Knapsack II combined-cycle power plant (CCPP) at Hürth near Cologne, Germany. Siemens and Statkraft had already concluded a contract to build the plant in September 2010 but the project was conditional on obtaining planning permission which was still pending at that time. Final building permission and operating license has been granted by regional authorities in Cologne. The power plant is scheduled to begin operation in 2013. Knapsack II CCPP is being built in Hürth’s chemical industry park and will have an installed generating capacity of approximately 430MW upon completion. In addition to the plant, Siemens is delivering a SGT5-4000F gas turbine, a SST5-5000 steam turbine, and a SGen5-2000H electrical generator. They will also provide all electrical equipment and SPPA-T3000 instrumentation and control system. The main components are arranged in a single-shaft configuration with a self synchronizing clutch, an innovative feature of Siemens power plants that plays a significant role in the flexibility of electricity generating plants of this kind. As a result of its high degree of flexibility and low CO2 and nitrous oxide emissions, the power plant can compensate for unexpected outages due to fluctuations in wind and solar power both rapidly and in an environmentally friendly manner.
