German Uniper has been awarded a contract from grid operator TenneT to build a gas power plant with a capacity of 300 megawatts in Irsching near Ingolstadt, Germany, the company said on Wednesday.
According to the announcement, Uniper will both build and operate the plant, which from Oct. 1 2022, will be on standby to serve as a "safety cushion" by supplying power in special emergency circumstances.
The facility will not serve the market but will instead be available on short notice any time system reliability is at risk.
"I'm pleased that Uniper won the competition for a 'special grid facility' to assure a reliable supply of electricity. For this, we will build and operate a new gas power plant," Eckhardt Rummler, Uniper chief operating officer said.
With high flexibility of gas power plants, they are ideal in balancing out the increasing share of non-controllable electricity generated from wind and solar energy, Rummler explained, adding that "They should therefore play an important role when it comes to Germany achieving its ambitious climate goals without incurring excessive risks in supplying industry and homes with electricity."
By Murat Temizer
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr
