Interview with Frank Albers, grad. physicist

GDF SUEZ Energie Deutschland AG – until January 2009 operating under the name Electrabel Deutschland AG – is currently building a coal-fired power station in Wilhelmshaven. The power station, which with an efficiency factor of over 46% will be among the most modern plants worldwide, is creating 300 direct and indirect jobs in the JadeBay region.

The following interview with the local project coordinator from the generation department, the graduate physicist Frank Albers, offers information about the company itself, goes into the reasons for the relocation and the opportunities for the region in cooperation with the company.

GDF SUEZ, with its headquarters in France, is an internationally active company in the energy sector. Reading the facts on the company’s website shows that GDF SUEZ has approx. 200,000 employees and clocked up sales of around euro 83 billion in 2008. What is behind this group?

GDF SUEZ is one of the leading energy suppliers in the world and operates along the entire gas and electricity energy value chain. We have been operating in Germany for a good 10 years. Until January 2009 we did business under the name Electrabel Deutschland AG. We supply industrial customers, public utility companies and municipal facilities with electricity and gas. We work closely together with the public utility companies of Saarbrücken, Gera and Wuppertal and together with them supply domestic customers in the southwest, centre and west of Germany with electricity, district heating and gas and operate power stations. In a nutshell you can say that we combine the strengths of an internationally operative energy group with the flexibility of a young energy company.

What kind of power station is GDF SUEZ going to build in Wilhelmshaven?

We are going to build an 800-MW coal-fired power station on the Rüstersieler Groden – the salt marshes. With an efficiency factor of over 46% it will be among the most modern power stations of its kind. In addition, we have undertaken voluntarily to stay 50% and more below the legally prescribed limits for dust, nitrogen oxide and sulphur oxide. We stand for the most modern technology and expertise in building and operating power stations.

GDF SUEZ has decided on Wilhelmshaven as its location. How does the process of finding a location work and what in the end was the decisive factor for choosing Wilhelmshaven and thus the JadeBay Region?

We started looking for sites to build a coal-fired power station back in 2004. We examined possible locations according to various factors: coal logistics, infrastructure, grid connection, possibility of CO2 separation and storage etc. From a large number of possibilities we then narrowed down our search bit by bit. We decided on Wilhelmshaven because we have especially attractive conditions here and Wilhelmshaven as a dependable partner. As a location Wilhelmshaven offers ideal conditions for the construction of a coal-fired power station. The seaport connection allows inexpensive and quick transport of the coal. We have chosen Rhenus Midgard for the coal logistics, an experienced partner with its headquarters located here. The coastal site also makes continuous flow cooling possible, meaning we can dispense with a cooling tower. The efficiency factor of the power station can thus be increased by almost one percentage point and the carbon dioxide emissions reduced further. Into the bargain, we have always felt welcome in Wilhelmshaven as a company and been well accepted by the citizens, politicians and business people.

The foundation stone was laid on September 19th, 2008. Walking along the dike by the future JadeWeserPort you can see the huge power station construction site very well. How long will the construction take, how many people are working on the site and what is the added value during the construction phase?

Besides JadeWeserPort the construction of the power station on the Rüstersieler Groden is the largest building project in the region. We are investing more than one billion euros in the project. A considerable amount of this sum will remain in the region. Over 600 people are currently working on the construction site. By mid 2010 there will be up to 1,500 working on the site at the same time. We are planning to start commercial operation of the power station at the beginning of 2012.

Commissioning of the power station will create approx. 300 direct and indirect jobs. What kind of qualifications do your employees require? Will your company have apprentices and trainees on site and if so, how can we encourage young people to apply for jobs that require training in your company?

For the safe operation of a power station we need highly qualified, committed and talented employees. In order to make sure of this by 2012 we will train and educate a large proportion of our workers ourselves. These apprentices and trainees are already getting to know the theoretical and practical sides of a power station at the Kraftwerksschule (KWS-PowerTech Training Centre) in Essen and at the locations where GDF SUEZ has power stations in Saarbrücken and Gelderland (Netherlands). However, we are still looking for workers who are inquisitive and committed and enjoy state-of-the-art technology. Our search is directed at people in the region and we have already found numerous new employees locally. And we will, of course, continue to train people when the power station is in operation.

Jade Wirtschaftsförderung GmbH joins hands with you on the cooperative alliance. Do you have any ideas for working together with the JadeBay region in the coming years?

We are looking forward to working closely together and exchanging ideas with the JadeBay region. We have felt welcome in Wilhelmshaven as a company from the very beginning and have been well accepted by the citizens, politicians and business people. As a new neighbour here in the community we want to continue to be a dependable and long-term partner for the region and its citizens.

Mr. Albers, thank you for the discussion!