- The Wedel power plant continues to operate due to setbacks in construction schedules at the nearby port.
The coal-fired power plant in Wedel will continue to provide heat to customers in western Hamburg beyond its planned retirement due to setbacks in the construction of the Energy Park Hafen on the Dradenau. Initially, it was expected that the new energy park would replace the outdated power plant situated near the Schleswig-Holstein border by the end of 2025 and transition it to standby operation, according to Christian Heine, spokesperson for the Hamburg Energy Works. "At present, we're dealing with a construction delay of approximately four months. However, the objective to commence operations by 2025's end remains valid."
Taking over the heat supply from the energy park during the 2025/2026 heating season is no longer feasible due to the delays in setting up the efficiency-focused plant without any glitches. "Following that, we will be in a position to transfer Wedel to standby operation."
Wedel will move to standby only after the 2025/2026 heating season
Suspension of operations is crucial to guarantee energy reliability in the event of modifications within the Energy Park Hafen. "Wedel will only be shut down once everything is functioning optimally in the Energy Park Hafen," says Heine. The precise dateline for the coal-fired power plant's final closure remains unclear.
Previously, the senate had set spring 2026 as the deadline. Hamburg aims to accomplish the departure from coal in the heat sector by 2030, with the Heizkraftwerk Tiefstack in eastern Hamburg also scheduled for replacement.
Energy Park Hafen serves as the focal point of Hamburg's heat transformation
The Energy Park Hafen, which blends several heat sources, serves as the core of Hamburg's heat transition. It leverages waste heat from nearby industrial operations, the Rugenberger Damm waste incineration plant, and the Dradenau wastewater treatment plant. The heat will be stored in a 50-meter high thermotank filled with 98-degree hot water. A highly efficient gas and steam turbine plant (GuD) will generate supplementary heat, and through combined heat and power, also electricity as required. By 2030, 55 percent of district heat will originate from climate-neutral sources.
"Heine states, 'The Energy Park Hafen project presents significant complexity. Several trades are simultaneously engaged here, and the synchronization of all the construction activities is the culprit behind the delay.' The project is advancing at a brisk pace. 'We're operating in multiple shifts and striving to recover some time to enable Wedel to move to standby after the 2025/2026 heating season.'"
Crisis and inflation amplify costs for Energy Park
Supplier shortages associated with the crisis and inflationary pressure have augmented the costs of this ambitious project. Initially, 600 million euros were set aside for the CHP plant on the Dradenau. "There already exists a substantial contingency provision in this cost block, yet it has been fully utilized - due to the Ukraine crisis and inflation, which has resulted in escalated personnel costs and elevated material costs in the steel sector." By 2028, Hamburg plans to invest approximately 2.85 billion euros in the heat transition.
Progress on the Dradenau project is evident after 28 months - particularly as one navigates through the Elbe tunnel: The most noticeable feature is the 50-meter-tall brown-rusty heat storage tank - now nearly filled to capacity with highly demineralized water. "Currently, it houses around 47,000 cubic meters of water," says project manager Andreas Buchheim. "The reason is straightforward: Prior to insulating the tank, we want to ensure the tightness of the weld seams. And it is indeed tight." Filled to its full capacity with 50 million liters of water, it can store 2,000 megawatt hours of heat.
Large heat storage tank to be insulated - end of the rusty can
Insulation work on the tank has now commenced. "By the end of this year, it will have a shell, subsequently also undergoing greening in the lower half," says Buchheim. In the media, the storage tank has already been referred to as a rusty can on the highway. "That will become a thing of the past."
Adjacent to the tank, construction on the operational buildings is also progressing, with the foundations laid on 1,600 piles that are 17 meters long and were initially driven into the ground. "The long-distance heat lines for connecting the energy park are already present on the site. We've already buried 1.2 kilometers of lines below ground, permitting us to now develop the surfaces."
More than 20,000 cubic meters of concrete have already been utilized and approximately 1,500 tons of building steel have been set up - around 400 tons are added weekly. The two large gas turbines and a steam generator are already in the machine hall.
One-third of the new long-distance heat Elbe tunnel has been completed
Since November last year, "Hermine" has been borehole drilling through the muddy subsoil to transport heat from the energy park located in the harbor to the long-distance heat network on the northern Elbe bank. "Hermine" represents "Hamburger Energiewerke Tunnel with New Energy". The tunnel boring machine is currently at tunnel meter 380, "just behind Seemannshöft," says project manager Dirk Lassen-Petersen. "We've surpassed the Köhlfleet harbor and the tanker bridge, digging about 1.5 meters under the bridge's piles."
Essentially, we've smashed through one-third of our tunnel journey, and we've conquered the tunnel's lowest point. "From now on, it's an uphill grind," he pointed out. "And from here on, it's smooth sailing, no more obstacles from up above."
The destination for our digging is the Hindenburg park in Othmarschen. As we speak, Hermine is churning out around 8 to 10 meters daily. According to Lassen-Petersen, we'll wrap up here by the year's end, on the construction site on Elbchaussee where a 34-meter deep, 13-meter diameter shaft has been excavated into the Elbe slope. "This large shaft isn't necessary for the two lines. However, the tunnel boring machine can't backtrack, so it must pass through here."
Once we link up the energy park, Lassen-Petersen promises, the tunnel shaft in Hindenburg park will disappear like a magic trick. "By the end, a lid will be placed on top, and all this sand will be hauled away. We'll then top it off with new soil, restore the park, and voila! Everything will look as good as new again."
The Energy Park Hafen will eventually replace the coal-fired power plant in Wedel, but this transition has been delayed. Due to construction setbacks, Wedel will continue providing heat to customers beyond its planned retirement and the energy park will only begin operations after the 2025/2026 heating season.
