A state-of-the-art steam-gas power plant in Malženice, Trnava Region, will halt production in October 2013 as a result of low electricity prices and disruption in the market for emissions trading. The operator of the power plant, the German energy firm E.ON, plans to mothball it, the SITA newswire reported on July 16.
E.ON explained that the uncontrolled and massively subsidised growth of renewable energy in Europe and the subsequent collapse of the European system of trading with emissions had affected European power plants burning natural gas in particular.
“As was announced in the beginning of the year, E.ON is restructuring its conventional energy sources to increase the competitiveness of its energy portfolio,” reads the official statement of E.ON, as reported by SITA.
The company added that regarding its plans to decrease costs and increase effectiveness, it checks how much of its power plants should be closed down.
The power plant in Malženice, whose production capacity is 430 MW, was opened in January 2011. However, during the following 2.5 years it worked for only 5,600 hours, much less than originally planned, SITA wrote.
Source: SITA
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
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