CHP ensures a healthy energy mix

The basic supply of electricity and gas to the economy is one of the pillars of the Energy
Industry Act. However, the safe and reliable supply of energy is even more essential
in the medical sector. Both electricity and heat can save lives here. In order to ensure
this security of supply in the future, the University of Göttingen (UMG) and the University
of Göttingen have jointly initiated an innovative energy supply concept. The central
component is a 4.5 megawatt CHP unit from ETW Energietechnik GmbH in Moers.
A modern, decentralised energy and heat supply will bring production closer to consumers
in the future. For this purpose, three large cogeneration units were implemented:
one at the university hospital and two at the university.
50 percent of the electricity requirement
At the end of September 2017, the „heart“ of the new combined heat and power plant
of UMG, a gas engine with generator, was delivered. A heavy-duty crane lifted the 53-
ton unit into the new building. The engine and generator alone account for around one
million euros. Since the end of 2017, the first of the three power plants has now been
supplying about half of the electricity required and the basic heat requirement of the
university hospital. The 4.5 megawatt cogeneration plant was developed and supplied
by ETW Energietechnik, the Moers-based specialist for power plants. It contributes
around 50 percent to the electricity requirements of the University Hospital Göttingen.
The total efficiency of the energy utilisation, electricity and heat output, amounts to
about 90 percent.
Contribution to climate protection
The state of Lower Saxony will bear the costs of around 4.7 million euros from the
August 2014 „Rehabilitation Programme for University Medicine of Lower Saxony“,
but the investment will not only save energy costs; security of supply and the saving
of 6,500 tons of carbon dioxide per year will also make an important contribution to
climate protection.
Security of supply elementary core component
Security of supply in particular is a key element of the new energy concept. The University
Medical School Göttingen (UMG) as a clinic of maximum care has an annual
heat energy requirement of more than 33,000 private households. For this purpose,
the waste heat from the engine and the hot exhaust gases are decoupled and used
for their own use. UMG relies on a cogeneration plant for the generation of heat and
electricity, which generates energy particularly efficiently with continuous heat output. It
has a heat output of 4.75 megawatts and has a 33-meter-high chimney stack.
Base load of heat supply
Since January 2018, around half of the electricity required in the university hospital has
been produced, thus covering the basic load of heat supply for the hospital. The heat is
mainly used to heat the drinking water and for the room heating of the central hospital
building. The energy-efficient plant technology of the CHP reduces the consumption
of resources and reduces environmental pollution and emissions. „The new combined
heat and power plant is thus an important contribution and a good example of the integration
of biogas into sustainable and modern energy supply concepts“, summarizes
Dr. Oliver Jende from the sales department of ETW Energietechnik GmbH in Moers.