The low water level in the Rhine endangers the supply of coal for the Staudinger 5 power plant in Großkrotzenburg in Hesse. The energy company Uniper may therefore have to reduce electricity production there in the next few weeks, as a company spokesman said on Thursday in Düsseldorf. On the ad hoc ticker of the EEX energy exchange, the company reported that irregularities in the operation of the 510 megawatt power plant could occur until September 7 due to limited coal reserves.
According to the company, the Staudinger power plant is the largest conventional power plant in Hesse. Uniper’s block 5, which is fired with hard coal, is currently the only one used on the electricity market. Block 4 (622 megawatts), which is fired with natural gas, is maintained by the network operator Tennet for network stabilization purposes and as reserve capacity. In addition, the city of Hanau and the local community would be supplied with district heating from the power plant.
The Federal Association of German Inland Shipping (BDB) only warned in Duisburg on Wednesday: “The current low water is increasingly hindering freight shipping in Germany. Shipping counts in the transport of coal, grain, animal feed, building materials, mineral oil, containers and industrial raw materials The BDB emphasized the “systemically relevant variables. The water levels, which have been falling for weeks, especially on the Rhine, Elbe and Danube, mean that ships can only take part of the usual cargo with them in order not to run aground.
