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RWE is set to mothball a gas-fired power station in the Netherlands just two years after it opened, it announced today.
The German utility, which owns generation assets and energy supplier Npower in the UK, blamed a glut of renewable power from Germany for making gas generation unprofitable.
Gas generators across Europe have also been hit by high gas prices, while cheap coal is enjoying a resurgence.
Despite being “one of the most modern plants of its kind”, the 1,300MW Claus C station in Maasbracht is closing down until it becomes economically viable again.
Half of the station, which started generating in January 2012, was already mothballed in early 2013. The other half will be taken offline on 1 July.
A spokeswoman said: “Low operating hours plus an extremely low wholesale price have made the operation of this plant unprofitable. This is mainly a consequence of the German energy transition, which is forcing renewable energy onto the Dutch grid. Against this backdrop, it was decided to discontinue the plant’s operation for the time being.”
She added: “RWE expects that besides coal-fired power plants high-efficiency gas-fired plants will have an important role to play in the future European energy mix.”
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