Swedish state-owned energy utility Vattenfall Group has announced that it has reached an agreement to sell its Magnum gas-fired power station in Eemshaven, the Netherlands to German energy utility RWE AG.
Under the terms of the agreement, RWE will be the new owner and operator of the 1.41 GW power plant as of September 30, 2022.
All Magnum employees will be transferred to RWE in the coming months. The deal is subject to the advice of the workers’ council.
In RWE we have found an expert and experienced buyer in the energy field with a clear role for the Magnum plant in the future. This gives employees security and the opportunity to further develop themselves and the power plant, said Alexander van Ofwegen, Head of Vattenfall’s Dutch Heat operations and CFO Vattenfall in the Netherlands.
The proceeds from the sale of EUR 500 million will give Vattenfall more resources to invest in the energy transition, for example in fossil-free energy projects such as offshore wind and district heating and cooling.
At the heart of Vattenfall’s Heat operations is however the district heating and cooling business where Vattenfall is focusing on decarbonizing the heat supply to their customers as part of the gas phaseout in the Netherlands. The proceeds from the transaction give Vattenfall more resources to invest in the energy transition, such as offshore wind and district heating and cooling, said Alexander van Ofwegen.
Hydrogen-ready
The Magnum gas-fired power plant consists of three so-called combined cycle gas turbines (CCGT) and is ‘hydrogen-ready’ and can be made technically suitable to run partly or even completely on hydrogen.
Modern, highly flexible gas-fired power plants that can be converted to hydrogen play an important role in the energy transition. They are needed as backup capacity when wind and solar power are not sufficiently available.
Magnum is a profitable and state-of-the-art gas-fired plant with an important role in the security of supply in the Netherlands, Alexander van Ofwegen said.
The agreement also includes a solar park with a capacity of 5.6 MW. The solar park with around 18 000 solar panels is located on the grounds of the Magnum plant.
