Rheinhafen steam power plant in Karlsruhe
At the site of the Rheinhafen steam power plant in Karlsruhe – RDK for short – a new coal-fired unit is being built east of the existing plants: RDK 8 The new RDK 8 power plant is an essential component of an environmentally friendly energy supply. With a multitude of technical innovations, RDK 8 will set a new global standard for the efficient and thus environmentally friendly generation of electricity and district heating from hard coal.
State-of-the-art technology for even greater efficiency
EnBW is relying on the new generation of conventional power plants for the expansion and conversion of its power plant fleet, thereby ensuring a quantum leap in terms of efficiency: 46% net efficiency – a worldwide record for hard-coal-fired power plants. By using combined heat and power generation for district heating, we are additionally increasing the energy efficiency of our plant.
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This is how the latest generation of fossil power plants works
The coal delivered by ship or rail goes to the coal store. Conveyor belts transport them from here to the boiler house. It is finely ground, blown into the boiler together with air, and burnt. The heat causes the water in the steam generator’s pipe system to evaporate. The steam is directed to the turbine, which is connected to the generator. The electrical energy generated by the generator is fed into the TransnetBW extra-high voltage grid via a transformer.
The turbine exhaust steam is deposited in the condenser cooled with water from the Rhine. It is then fed back into the steam generator as feed water. At high temperatures of the river Rhine, the cooling water is cooled down in a fan cooling tower before being fed back into the river.
Part of the steam is used to heat the district heating water circulating in the district heating network of Stadtwerke Karlsruhe.