Plants Utrecht cluster
The Utrecht Cluster consists of various combined heat and power (CHP) plants:
- Lage Weide plant in Utrecht
- Merwede Canal plant in Utrecht
- Diemen plant near Amsterdam
- Almere 1 and Almere 2 in Almere
- Lelystad biomass power plant
Environmentally-friendly CHP plants
All the plants in the Utrecht Cluster are CHP plants, which produce both power and heat. This makes them environmentally friendly, with high fuel yields and substantially lower emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and CO2.
Urban heating
The plants were specially designed to supply heat for urban heating services in Utrecht, Nieuwegein, Amsterdam Zuidoost and IJburg. They supply hundreds of thousands of households with heat. This is beneficial for Nuon, because the total yield of these plants is higher than that of units that generate electricity only. This is also good for the environment, because part of the condensation heat does not need to be discharged via the condenser in the cooling water. Furthermore, the use of urban heating provides for a considerable reduction in CO2 emissions.
Lage Weide
Lage weide 06 is a modern CHP plant, built in 1995. This steam and gas turbine (STEG) plant consists of a gas turbine with a generator, a degassing furnace, a steam turbine with a generator and various heat exchangers for urban heating.
Production capacity
- maximum electrical capacity: 266 megawatts
- maximum thermal capacity: 180 megawatts
This plant can supply 500,000 households with electricity and 150,000 households with heat.
Merwede Canal
Merwede Canal includes the Merwede Canal 10, 11, and 12 plants, all of which are CHP plants (STEG).
Production capacity
Merwedekanaal 10
- maximum electrical capacity: 96 megawatts
- maximum thermal capacity: 100 megawatts
Merwedekanaal 11
- maximum electrical capacity: 103 megawatts
maximum thermal capacity: 110 megawatts
Merwedekanaal 12
- maximum electrical capacity: 225 megawatts
- maximum thermal capacity: 180 megawatts
Merwede Canal 10 and 11 can supply 200,000 households with electricity and 100,000 households with heat.
Merwede Canal 12 supplies 500,000 households with electricity and 150,000 households with heat.
Diemen
Diemen 33 is a modern STEG CHP plant, in operation since 1995.
Production capacity
- maximum electrical capacity: 266 megawatts
- maximum thermal capacity: 180 megawatts
Diemen 33 can supply 500,000 households with electricity and 150,000 households with heat.
Almere
The units Almere 1 en Almere 2 are both natural gas-fired CHP plants. They have been in operation since 1987 and 1992 respectively.
Production capacity
Almere 1
- maximum electrical capacity: 64 megawatts
- maximum thermal capacity: 54 megawatts
Almere 2
- maximum electrical capacity: 64 megawatts
- maximum thermal capacity: 54 megawatts
Almere 1 en 2 can together supply 240.000 households with electricity and 11.000 households with heat.
Lelystad
The Lelystad power plant was commissioned in 2000 and is fired by biomass. The fuel used by the power plant is wood chips, obtained from maintenance and pruning activities in the Lelystad area. Combustion of these chips provides heat for district heating and electricity.
Production capacity
- maximum electrical capacity: 1.5 Megawatts
- maximum thermal capacity: 6.5 Megawatts
Heat transfer stations and ancillary heat units
The Utrecht region has four ancillary heat units and seven heat transfer stations for decentralised generation and transmission of heat within the heat network. The heat network in Amsterdam Zuidoost (which is included in the Utrecht Cluster) holds two heat transfer stations and an ancillary heat unit. With the ancillary units, all demand for heat can be met. We can therefore guarantee 100% heat delivery at all times.