See how Essent carries out production… from a bird’s-eye view

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Imagine that you are a peregrine falcon in flight: look down at the ground and you will see villages, towns, woods, meadows, rivers and lakes go past. A bird’s-eye view of the Netherlands. Take a closer look and you will see Essent’s production plants. Notice the wind farms, the production buildings, the cooling towers, the chimney stacks, the ports where supplies are imported, the hydro-electric power plants and more. See how Essent carries out production… from a bird’s-eye view.

EssentEssent is a large Dutch energy company and, since 30 September 2009, a 100%-owned subsidiary of international energy group RWE. We supply electricity, gas, heat and energy services to millions of households within our domestic markets in the Netherlands and Belgium. It is our ambition to be the best-performing energy company in these markets. We want to achieve that ambition by offering our customers the best personal service and the lowest energy bills amongst other things. We want to be the most attractive employer in the energy sector: we are already the largest producer of sustainable energy in the Netherlands and we want to make sure that we hang on to that position, by halving our CO2 emissions amongst other things. We want to double our energy production by 2020 compared with 2010. Essent has a workforce of around 3800 people and an annual turnover of 5.8 billion euros (2011). Our head office is located in ’s-Hertogenbosch.

Sustainable energyA lot of the energy that Essent supplies we produce ourselves. We are the largest producer of sustainable energy in the Netherlands. We want to increase the share of sustainable energy within our energy mix over the next few years to a percentage of between 20 and 25 by 2020. Our aim is to supply completely CO2-neutral energy by 2050, by investing in biomass and wind power amongst other things.

Secure and affordableYet while we remain in the transition phase as far as achieving a completely CO2-neutral energy supply is concerned, the demand for electricity continues to grow. Essent is not only focusing on sustainability and energy generation, we consider security of supply and affordability to be just as important. When you turn up the thermostat at home, the house should get warmer and when you switch a light on, the light should come on. And no-one wants astronomical energy bills, that goes without saying.

The peregrine falcon

When it swoops, the peregrine falcon can

reach speeds in excess of 200 kilometres

per hour, making it the fastest bird in the

world. It roosts in high places. There are a

number of breeding pairs in the Netherlands,

some of which have made their home in

nesting boxes on the cooling towers at the

Amer power plant, the Claus power plant and

the Moerdijk power plant operated by Essent.

See how Essent carries out production… from a bird’s-eye view

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If the Netherlands was to generate electricity only using the wind and sun, the security of supply could not be guaranteed. For the sun does not always shine and the wind also deserts us from time to time. The use of these sustainable energy sources is also rather more costly than fossil fuels. Therefore it will still be necessary for energy from fossil fuels to be used over the next few years, for the sake of both security and affordability.

However, those fuels must be used as cleanly and efficiently as possible. The modernization of production facilities in the Netherlands is at least as important as increasing the share of sustainable energy, as far as reducing the CO2 emissions produced by the energy sector is concerned. Essent has made significant progress in this field. We have modernized the existing Claus B power plant in Maasbracht and we have built the new CCGT Moerdijk 2 power plant. Construction of the power plant in Eemshaven is also in full swing. Thanks to this modernization, the need to use older, less clean power plants has been reduced or, in some cases, has disappeared altogether.

Essent has been a subsidiary of RWE since

30 September 2009. RWE has operations which

cover the whole energy chain: these range from

oil, gas and brown coal extraction, construction

and operation of conventional and sustainable

power plants and trading in raw materials to the

transportation and selling of electricity and gas.

With more than 16 million electricity customers,

8 million gas customers, 72,000 employees and a

turnover of around 51.7 billion euros (2011),

RWE is one of the five leading electricity and gas

suppliers in Europe. The main starting points for

the future growth of RWE are the power plants and

the investment programme for developing an

environmentally-friendly and flexible generating

capacity.

RWE

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A whole variety of power plants

Amer power plantThe Amer power plant in Geertruidenberg is one of Essent’s large production sites. There are two units at the site: unit 8 which has been in operation since 1980 and unit 9 which has been in operation since 1993. The two units have a combined capacity of 1245 megawatts which is enough to supply around 3 million households with electricity each year. The two units can also produce 600 megawatts of heat which is used for district heating for tens of thousands of companies, households and market gardening operations as far as Breda and Tilburg. The Amer power plant is fired not only by coal and clean biomass but also wood gas which is obtained from waste timber.

Eemshaven power plantEssent will put the new Eemshaven power plant in Groningen into operation in 2014. This is an ultramodern power plant fired by coal and biomass.The two blocks A and B will supply a combined output of 1600 megawatts of electricity which is enough power for more than 2.5 million households. By using the latest technologies, the power plant will be considerably cleaner than existing coal-fired plants. It has an efficiency of 46 per cent.

Essent does not want its energy generation activities to be dependent on one type of fuel or one type of power plant. We use all kinds of power plants to generate energy, ranging from a large-scale coal/biomass power plant which can generate electricity for millions of households to a neighbourhood power plant that runs on manure and supplies a single district with power. As far as we are concerned, that varied mix of power plants is the best way to guarantee security of supply and affordability.

Figures for Essent in 2011

Employees: over 3800

Turnover: over 5.8 billion euros

Customers (electricity): over 2.3 million

Customers (gas): around 2 million

Generating capacity: 6000 megawatts

Amer power plant

Eemshaven power plant

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Claus power plantThe Claus power plant in Maasbracht originally consisted of the two identical gas-fired units A and B, from 1977 and 1978 respectively. Both had a generating capacity of 640 megawatts. Recently Claus B has been completely modernized and converted into Claus C. This power plant has a generating capacity of 1275 megawatts and an efficiency of 58.5 per cent.For comparison: the old Claus B power plant had an efficiency of 40 per cent. So a lot more electricity can now be generated using the same quantity of gas. Essent is also planning to completely modernize Claus A.

Moerdijk power plantCHP power plant Moerdijk 1 dates back to 1997 and is a cogeneration power plant. It produces both electricity and heat using natural gas as well as steam from the nearby waste incineration plant. The combined production of electricity and heat enables more energy to be generated from the fuels used. CHP power plant Moerdijk 1 has an electricity generating capacity of 339 megawatts and also produces 200 tons of steam per hour, of which 150 tons per hour is supplied to the Shell Chemie plant nearby. The new Moerdijk power plant was put into operation at the start of 2012.CCGT Moerdijk 2, as the new power plant is called, is a combined gas and steam turbine

unit with a maximum capacity of 430 megawatts. The power plant has an efficiency of 58 per cent and only produces electricity. This power plant is also fired by natural gas.

SwentiboldThe Swentibold cogeneration power plant on the DSM site in Geleen has been in operation since 1999. The power plant generates electricity and heat (mainly steam) using natural gas and residual gases from DSM. Swentibold has an electricity generating capacity of 245 megawatts and a maximum steam production capacity of 300 tons per hour. The electricity and steam generated are mainly supplied to the facilities of DSM.

Claus power plant

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InescoEssent first put the Inesco CHP power plant in Zwijndrecht (near Antwerp in Belgium) into operation in 2008. The power plant, with an electricity generating capacity of 133 megawatts, stands on the INEOS site and produces electricity, heat (steam) and demineralised water for the chemical engineering company.Essent supplies the electricity that is not needed by INEOS to the Belgian national grid.

Cuijk bio-energy power plantAt the Cuijk bio-energy power plant, electricity was produced using prunings from forests managed by Staatsbosbeheer (National Forest Service in the Netherlands) and waste from the wood industry amongst other things over a period of ten years. When a subsidy that had been granted came

to an end, Essent was no longer able to operate the plant profitably. Since the start of 2012, the power plant has been used as a test location for various types of biomass such as grass and paper sludge. The purpose of this innovative development has been to give the power plant ‘a new lease of life’ which fits in with the Green Deal, an agreement between the government, trade and industry and organisations with the aim of making the Dutch economy more sustainable and greener and ultimately creating a bio-based economy.

Eco ZatheEco Zathe in Leeuwarden is a unique Essent power plant. This so-called neighbourhood power plant supplies sustainable electricity and heat to 800 homes in the Leeuwarden district of De Zuidlanden.

What is remarkable about this facility is that energy is generated using biogas from fermented manure produced by around 200 dairy cattle. The biogas is supplied via a 5-kilometre long pipeline which runs from the Nij Bosma Zathe farm in Goutum.

Cogeneration power plantsEssent has midsize cogeneration power plants (CHPs) at seven locations within the Netherlands. The electricity generated is routed to the national grid while the heat (in the form of steam) is used in industrial processes in nearby factories or for heating, amongst other things.By combining the generation of electricity and heat, more energy is produced from the fuel used: natural gas. The power plants are unmanned and operated remotely from the Regional Centres in Eindhoven and Enschede.

Moerdijk power plant

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Hydro power plantsEssent has a hydro power plant on the river Maas near to Linne and on the river Vecht near to Gramsbergen. The power plant near Linne generates around 35 million kilowatt hours of electricity per annum which is enough Green Power for approximately 9000 households. The De Haandrik power plant on the Vecht near to Gramsbergen produces 300,000 kilowatt hours of Green Power per annum which is enough for around 100 households.

Onshore wind energyIn the Netherlands, we have been committed to the development of wind energy for more than twenty-five years now. Not just through project development but also through construction, operation and maintenance.

Our wind operations in the Netherlands are looked after by RWE Innogy, a sister company of Essent that is currently operating around 160 wind turbines. These represent an installed capacity of more than 200 megawatts and that capacity is being expanded.

Windpark Westereems in Eemshaven, Groningen is the largest wind farm on Dutch soil and generates enough Green Power for around 135,000 households or for more than half of the households in the province of Groningen.Two wind turbines with an electricity generating capacity of 6.15 megawatts each were added to the farm in mid-2012. The other wind farms are spread across Groningen, Flevoland and North Brabant.

Offshore wind farmsEssent is involved in the development of wind farms at sea via its sister company RWE Innogy. Windpark Nordsee Ost is currently being built and lies 30 kilometres north-west of the German island of Helgoland. When it is put into operation in 2013, it will have an electricity generating capacity of 295 megawatts. A permit has been granted for a second farm on the coast near IJmuiden.In order to investigate the possibilities for wind farms out at sea, Essent installed a meteo mast 75 kilometres off the coast at IJmuiden. The mast which is almost 100 metres high is fitted with measuring equipment for recording data such as wind speed, temperature, air humidity and wave height. The Energieonderzoek Centrum Nederland (ECN) is going to collect and analyze the data recorded.

Eco Zathe Leeuwarden

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Fuels and energy sourcesEssent does not want its electricity generation activities to be dependent on one type of fuel as that would put the security of supply and affordability of the electricity (and heat) at risk. We use a wide range of fuels (and energy sources) to generate energy. We call those fuels our fuel mix. The main fuels which we use are natural gas, coal and biomass. The main sustainable energy sources we use are wind, some water and a bit of sun.

Natural gasSixty per cent of the energy produced by Essent is produced using natural gas. Natural gas is released from oil or coal seams deep in the Earth’s crust. As it rises, the gas collects under a layer of gastight rock. The gas in these natural gas bubbles can be recovered relatively easily.The natural gas field in Slochteren, sourced from coal seams, is a good example of this. Essent uses natural gas at the Claus power plant, the Moerdijk power plant and at its CHP power plants. CoalTake large quantities of organic material. Compact it under high pressure for millions of years and over time, this material will first turn into peat under the influence of chemical processes and heat, then into brown coal so that it can finally be made into coal which is extracted all over the world. Sometimes it is

Amer power plant

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found naturally on the surface from where it can be scooped up. More often, mines have to be dug in order to extract the coal. Essent uses coal at the Amer power plant in Geertruidenberg and will do so later at the Eemshaven power plant in Groningen.

BiomassBiomass is the collective name for all kinds of organic material such as kitchen and garden waste (KGW), prunings, sewage sludge and agricultural crops. Because the CO2 that is released during the combustion of these materials forms part of the natural, short CO2 cycle on Earth, they are referred to as renewable fuels. The large-scale co-firing of biomass is necessary in order to be able to realize the sustainable energy targets of Essent and the Dutch government. It is indeed more costly than coal or natural gas but cheaper than offshore wind and solar power. Moreover, biomass is abundantly available.

Essent uses biomass at the Amer power plant and will also do so at a later date at the Eemshaven power plant currently under construction. The biomass that we use is certified wood and sawdust from sustainably managed forests in North America amongst other places. These are compressed to form pellets (granules) because they are easy to transport. Essent is an international pioneer when it comes to biomass co-firing at a coal-fired power plant. At the Amer power plant, biomass co-firing is carried out continually at a level of 20 per cent. We are looking to gradually increase that percentage over the next few years. Bio-based economyWe know from our test facility in Cuijk that a lot of biomass flows are suitable for producing energy but there is a lot more that can be done

with biomass. Biomass can be optimally split (refined) into various high-value components for use in cosmetics and medicines, for example. Once all the high-value components have been removed from the biomass, you are left with a low-value residue which is ideally suitable for co-firing in coal-fired power plants, for example. Therefore this process does not produce any waste. This new look at biomass will form the basis for the so-called bio-based economy, an economy based on the use of renewable raw materials. In the Netherlands, Essent is a great believer in the bio-based economy and is therefore involved in various associated initiatives.

Wind powerOur weather system consists of areas of low pressure and high pressure. The differences in pressure cause an air flow to develop between the high-pressure area and the low-pressure area. We call that wind. The greater the differences in pressure, the harder it blows.After the oil crises in the 1970s last century, wind energy became a serious candidate for electricity generation. We took up the challenge and in 1987 Windpark Westermeerdijk, the first large wind farm in the Netherlands, became a fact. And in 1995, Essent was the first power company to introduce the product Green Power on the market, i.e. electricity generated by means of a renewable source such as wind power. The Netherlands is flat and the wind blows almost every day. The highest level of available wind is found on the coast and around the IJsselmeer. But our country is relatively small and densely populated. Good wind sites are scarce. And that is why besides developing new areas, we are also working on replacing older turbines with newer types which have higher capacities and shaft heights, thus enabling

existing locations to be utilized optimally and more efficiently.

Hydro powerThe principle of hydro power is simple. The energy of falling or flowing water sets a blade wheel (turbine) in motion. That turbine drives the generators that generate electricity. The greater the head of water, the more energy will be produced. In the Netherlands, there are no major differences in altitude and therefore hydro power is only used on a small scale. The strict requirements for protecting migratory species of fish mean that it is practically impossible to build more large hydro power plants in the Netherlands.

Solar powerThe sun is an inexhaustible source of energy. However, Man has not yet succeeded in finding a way to utilize that energy efficiently and cheaply. There are currently two main methods which are used for generating solar power. Solar thermal energy is a method which uses the heat from the sun for heating water, using solar boilers for example. Sunlight can also be turned directly into electricity with the help of solar panels with so-called photovoltaic cells (PV cells). Essent has experience with solar energy but currently chooses to use wind power and biomass to generate Green Power.

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InnovationAs a large Dutch energy company, Essent has been one of the leading innovators in its field for a very long time. Its achievements include building the first large wind farm in the Netherlands (1987), coming up with the idea of Green Power (1995), carrying out large-scale co-firing of biomass (since 2000) and promoting the introduction of electric vehicles (since 2009). We will continue our quest to find innovative solutions to the energy problems of today, tomorrow and the distant future. As a pioneer in the field of biomass co-firing, we see torrefaction as a new promising innovation. Using torrefaction, we can turn biomass into biocoal, a compact biofuel that can be ground into powder so that it burns optimally, just like normal coal.It is a method for extracting moisture and volatile matter from biomass so that the biomass can then be compressed to form small granules, the so-called pellets.

Because of their energy content, those pellets have excellent burning properties. We have a share in a test facility and have already carried out initial tests at the Amer power plant.

Excursion centreWould you like to see one of the Essent power plants in operation for yourself, visit a wind farm or maybe find out more about the Eco Zathe neighbourhood power plant? Then you can. The Essent excursion centre organizes tours of various production facilities for groups on request.The tours are held on weekdays during the morning or afternoon. The minimum number of people required in order to make up a group is 10 and a minimum age applies. Tours are given free of charge but you will have to organize your own transport and pay your own costs for getting to and from the site. For more information, please go to www.essent.nl/excursie.

Becoming a customerBesides electricity, gas and heat, Essent also supplies a range of energy-related services including high-efficiency boilers, servicing and maintenance, smart thermostats, insulation packages and more. If you want to join two million other households who have become customers of Essent, you can do so for example by going to www.essent.nl.

Working at EssentEssent is always on the lookout for technical staff at every level, ranging from installers to project engineers and from environmental coordinators to project managers. But we can always use talented people in such areas as business development, finance & control, consultancy, commerce and IT too. Interested? Then go to www.werkenbijessent.nl. where you will also find information on our apprentice schemes, places for students studying for theses or our trainee programme.

Want to find out more? www.essent.eu

Miscellaneous