Virgin soil in power plant construction technology

For E.ON Kraftwerke, Irsching will become the centre of European combined cycle gas turbine activities. Two highly efficient combined cycle power plants are planned there: the power stations Irsching 4 and Irsching 5. The site was selected due to the already existing infrastructure and its good connection to the gas and electricity network.

The first plant Irsching 4 is constructed by Siemens AG, who are testing a new generation of gas turbines. With a capacity of initially 340, later 540 Megawatt (MW), the highest output gas turbine power station at all is emerging there. With this plant alone it would be possible to supply the population of a town the size of Hamburg with electricity. After the successful completion of test operations, Irsching 4 will be upgraded to a 540 MW combined cycle power plant. After the test phase, the net efficiency of the combined cycle power plant will range above 60 percent and thus two percentage points above the present "world record". With this improvement it is possible to cut down on up to 40,000 tons of CO₂ emissions every year. Take over of the power station by E.ON Kraftwerke is planned for the year 2011.

The project Irsching 5 is implemented together with the regional power utilities N-ERGIE, Nuremberg, and Mainova, Frankfurt am Main and HEAG Südhessische Energie AG, Darmstadt. The combined cycle power plant with a gross output of 860 MW will go on line in 2009. Its efficiency exceeds 58 percent.