Power plant data
Owner: VERBUND Thermal Power GmbH & Co KG
Operator: VERBUND Thermal Power GmbH & Co KG
Commissioning: 1986
Type: Thermal power plant
Country: Austria
Region: Styria
Output: 246 MW
District heating
power plant Mellach
The VERBUND district heating power plant Mellach is situated in the municipality of Mellach in Styria. Austria’s last coal-fired power plant produced electricity and heat for the Styrian provincial capital Graz for 34 years and can in future be used for short periods with natural gas as a fuel to support the national electricity grid.
Technical description
The power plant consists of the machine and boiler house, the flue gas cleaning plant, the flue gas desulphurisation plant and a plant for removing dust. The power plant is cooled using water from the river Mur.
The Mellach district heating power plant is equipped with a cogeneration system: A portion of the steam is taken from the turbine and passed to a heat exchanger, where the steam condenses and gives off its energy. This increases the total amount of energy produced from about 40% to as much as 68%. The power plant is put into operation each year from September to May and supplies up to 225 MW of electricity and 230 MW of district heating. Coal as well as natural gas are used as fuels.
Ecology & environmental protection
The Mellach district heating power plant and the Mellach combined cycle gas turbine power plant on the same site are certified to EMAS and ISO 14001. Ready to spring into action when sun and wind plants drop out due to the weather.
