The coal phase-out has already been completed in Kiel since April 2019. Now a further step has been taken so that the over 50-year-old coal-fired power plant (GKK) can be consigned to history. The 14-hectare GKK site has been sold. The municipal utility company Stadtwerke Kiel will take 7.5 hectares for the further decarbonisation of Kiel's district heating and the seaport of Kiel will use 6.5 hectares as an expansion area, the Port of Kiel says in a press release.
The coal-based joint power plant, operated in equal parts by Stadtwerke Kiel and Uniper Kraftwerke, has stood with its 126-metre-high chimney on the eastern shore of the Kiel Fjord since 1970. Following its decommissioning at the beginning of 2019, Stadtwerke Kiel's coastal power plant took over the production of electricity and district heating and has since secured the supply for households and companies in the state capital. Europe's most modern combined heat and power plant reduces CO2 emissions by around 70 percent compared to its coal-fired predecessor. To further advance the decarbonisation of Kiel's district heating, the acquired 7.5 hectares next to the coastal power plant are now available as an expansion area.
With the signing of the acquisition contract, the port of Kiel now has the opportunity to take over a 6.5 hectare area directly adjacent to the Ostuferhafen. Dr Dirk Claus, Managing Director PORT OF KIEL: "We are pleased to be able to further expand our logistics services in the long run through the purchase of the site." The PORT OF KIEL will use the period during which the buildings of the former coal power station are being dismantled to make preparations for the project approval procedure that is to be carried out. At the existing ship berths in the Ostuferhafen, the port is currently projecting two on-shore power plants that will be connected to the grid in 2023. Dirk Claus: "In the long term, we can use the land to strengthen the port's logistical competence and combine this with measures to protect the environment. The goal is to operate the port in a climate-neutral way from 2030 onwards."