Frequently asked questions
Energy from wind, sun or water power – can’t these cover the entire power requirement?
Learn more about the most important questions around the subjects E.ON Kraftwerke, environment, power generation and power supply.
Questions regarding the company
Questions regarding power generation
Questions regarding the environment
Questions regarding the power supply
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Questions regarding power generation
Questions regarding the environment
Questions regarding the power supply
Who is E.ON?
E.ON is the worldwide largest private energy service provider with a turnover in excess of 56 billion Euro and approx. 80,000 employees. E.ON is a clearly focussed company with leading market competences in the core business segments power and gas.
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Who is E.ON Energie?
E.ON Energie is the holding company of Market Unit Central Europe and thus a 100% subsidiary of E.ON AG. Based in Munich, it is the largest private energy service company in Europe. You will find more information on the website of E.ON Energie.
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At which sites is E.ON Kraftwerke represented?
The head office of E.ON Kraftwerke GmbH has its seat in Hanover. The sites of the more than 30 power stations are distributed across the whole of Germany - from the Bavarian Zolling to Kiel in Schleswig-Holstein. In addition, power stations are currently being built in different European neighbouring countries such as Hungary, Italy and Slovakia. Here you find an overview of the sites.
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Which types of power generation are used at E.ON Kraftwerke?
E.ON Kraftwerke operates the conventional power stations and thus uses coal, gas and oil as fuel. In the coal fired power stations, the energy sources hard coal and brown coal are used. In the gas fired power stations, E.ON Kraftwerke relies on the so-called combined cycle gas turbine technology (CCGT). Some power stations sites of E.ON Kraftwerke GmbH are making use of the possibilities offered by combined heat and power. With this method, power generation is slightly reduced by the extraction of steam from the turbine, but heating energy is gained. All power stations comply with the high environmental protection standards. In addition, increasing the efficiency of power stations is a constantly pending task for our engineers and technicians.
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Why does the efficiency of the planned innovative hard coal fired power stations range at approx. 50 percent? Isn't half of the energy lost unused in the process?
It is a fundamental physical law that heat is generated during the conversion of energy. This is the reason why a light bulb for instance gets hot or a car requires a radiator. If a planned hard coal block has an efficiency of 46 percent, than this is a value no other coal fired power station has reached until now. It will range among the most advanced plants in the world. For comparison purposes: A car has an efficiency of approx. 15 percent. A light bulb has an efficiency of approx. 10 percent.
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Why are the new power stations' cooling towers so high?
A low cooling tower requires a fan to generate the required draught. This would mean that the power station has an increased own requirement and thus a lower efficiency. The same applies to the discharge of the purified flue gas via the cooling tower. With a higher cooling tower we can make use of the steam's lift and again save energy, which we otherwise would have to use to transport the purified flue gas to the outside via the chimney. This helps us to save on CO2.
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Why does E.ON build new coal fired power stations and does not rely on renewable energies?
The fact that E.ON is building new coal and gas fired power stations to replace old coal fired power stations does not mean that the company is not simultaneously advancing and encouraging the use of renewable energies. As far as the renewable energies are concerned, E.ON is predominantly relying on water power, wind energy and biomass. However, what is important in this regard is the mix of different energy sources. Today, the renewable energies make up a share of 14 percent of power generation. Even if still more money was invested in renewable energies, we would not be able to cover our overall power requirements during the next decades at justifiable costs and with the necessary security of supply. After all, wind and sun are not always available to the extent to which we need power. New modern coal and gas fired power stations are necessary to make the power we all need available safely and reliably. Thus, conventional power stations never compete with renewable energies.
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How can the construction of new coal fired power stations be reconciled with the worldwide efforts for an increased protection of the climate?
The replacement of old power stations by new, more efficient power stations is an important global climate protection measure. Due to an increased efficiency, clearly less coal is required for the new power station blocks to generate the same amount of electricity. This means that the CO2 discharge per generated kilowatt-hour is also declining. Important in this connection is that CO2 is a natural constituent of air and no air pollutant. Due to its dilution by the ambient air, the CO2 concentration in the vicinity of the power station is irrelevant: an increased CO2 discharge therefore has no negative effect on the direct surroundings.
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Is it for me as customer possible to determine from which power station the electricity I consume originates?
It is not possible to trace back the route from consumer to power station, i.e. the electricity consumed cannot be exactly allocated to a source. This is similar to a lake: somewhere water is flowing into the lake, at another place it is flowing out again, but you cannot tell exactly from which inflow the water originates.
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Would it be possible to secure the supply by only using green electricity, i.e. renewable energies?
No. The quantity of the currently available green electricity would be nowhere near enough to cover the power requirement in Germany. Currently, only approx. 14 percent of the entire power requirement can be covered from renewable energy sources.
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What is a kilowatt? What is electric power?
Kilowatt or watt is the unit for electric power. The abbreviation is kW (kilowatt) or W (watt). Electric power describes the intensity with which energy is generated or consumed at a certain point in time (output = work/time). The higher an electrical device's output, the more energy (i.e. work) it consumes in a time unit (e.g. in an hour).
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What is a kilowatt-hour? What is electric work?
Kilowatt-hour is the unit for electric work or electric energy. The abbreviation is kWh. Electric work describes the amount of energy that is generated or consumed over a period of time. The longer an electric device is running without interruption, the more work or kWh it will use.
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What is a load profile?
A load profile (also called load curve) is a curve that indicates the power consumption during the individual hours of the day or night over a day, a week or during a year. The curve mostly has an irregular characteristic.
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How is electricity actually traded?
At exchanges - similar to shares, gold or raw materials. Energy exchanges already exist in the USA, Great Britain and Scandinavia. The price is always based on offer and demand. Both the producers and large power customers are participating in this trade (industry, municipalities and independent power dealers). An energy exchange also comes into being in Frankfurt.
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