Gas Power Plants: a critical fight we can’t afford to ignore
The fight against gas power plants is ongoing but missing sufficient visibility. There are a number of problematic gas power plants that shouldn’t be built. There are important developments around these plants that are not sufficiently heard, understood and contextualised.
Nijmegen, the Netherlands
New 500 MW fossil gas plant on a former coal plant site, which it intends to operate until 2045, in contradiction with the Dutch government’s commitment to decarbonise its power system by 2035. Plans to eventually convert it to hydrogen are vague, failing to identify when the switch will be made and where the hydrogen will come from.
Peterhead, Scotland
New 900 MW combined cycle gas turbine on the site of an operational 1180 MW fossil gas plant, already Scotland’s biggest polluter. Promises to capture at least 90% of CO2 emissions through CCS, an unproven and expensive technology.
Rybnik, Poland
882,9 MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT), the largest single gas unit in the country. It will replace four 225 MW hard coal units which will be gradually phased-out.
Kozienice, Poland
Two new 700 MW combined cycle gas turbines (CCGT) (earlier plans included three 750 MW or two 1100 MW blocks) on the site of a 4 GW coal power plant, the largest hard coal power plant in the country and one of the biggest in Europe. The new gas blocks are to replace the oldest 200 MW coal units.