Ørsted shuts down its last coal-fired heat and power plant

On 31 August 2024, Ørsted will shut down its last coal-fired combined heat and power plant, Esbjerg Power Station, located in the Western part of Denmark.

Today, Ørsted is one of the largest renewable energy companies in the world and the global leader in offshore wind power. Earlier, Ørsted was one of the most coal-intensive energy companies in Europe, but since 2006, the company has reduced its coal consumption significantly through a reduction in the number of heat and power plants as well as conversions to certified sustainable biomass instead of coal.

With this, the company will have shut down its last coal-fired heat and power plant, and Ørsted’s entire energy generation will be essentially fossil-free.

Ole Thomsen, Senior Vice President and Head of Ørsted’s Bioenergy business, says: “Shutting down the last of our coal-fired heat and power plants marks the end of a chapter in our green transformation. For many years, Esbjerg Power Station has been a very important contributor to the Danish energy system, delivering electricity and stability to the power grid and district heating to the municipality of Esbjerg. The Danish authorities ordered us to continue operations at Esbjerg Power Station until 31 August to ensure the security of the electricity supply. Naturally, we complied with the order, but we believe that we, as a society, must phase out the use of gas, oil, and coal as soon as possible, and with the close down of the heat and power plant, we’re well on track to becoming the first major energy company to completely transform its energy production from fossil fuels to renewable energy.”

The yearly consumption of coal at Esbjerg Power Station has been approx. 500,000 tonnes, which is equivalent to approx. 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions (or the yearly emissions from approx. 600,000 fossil-fuelled cars in the EU). Shutting down Esbjerg Power Station is the last major step on Ørsted’s journey towards meeting itstarget of a 99 % green share of energy generation by 2025.

Ørsted has already reduced its scope 1-2 emissions intensity by 92 % from 2006 to 2023 and was the first energy company to get a science-based net-zero target. The shut-down of the last coal-fired heat and power plant marks a key milestone for the company as it has now taken all actions necessary to meet its industry leading science-based targets to reduce its scope 1-2 emissions intensity by 98 % by 2025.

Going forward, the power production will be covered by other power plants and wind and solar farms, and the local heating supply company in Esbjerg is establishing an alternative production capacity for delivering district heating to the municipality of Esbjerg. The 50 employees working at Esbjerg Power Station will either move to another position at Ørsted, retire, or be let go.

Studstrup Power Station and Kyndby Power Station

In order to ensure the security of the electricity supply in Denmark, the Danish authorities decided in October 2022 to order Ørsted to continue and resume operations of three of its power station units, which use oil and coal as fuel. This applied to unit 3 at Esbjerg Power Station and unit 4 at Studstrup Power Station, which both use coal as their primary source of fuel, and unit 21 at Kyndby Peak Load Plant, which uses oil as fuel. The two latter units had already been decommissioned and preserved.

On 31 August, Ørsted will also be shutting down the coal-fired unit 4 at Studstrup Power Station as well as Kyndby Power Station's unit 21.

Ørsted still has coal as a reserve fuel at Studstrup Power Station's unit 3, while a large wood pellet silo is being rebuilt after a fire. Ørsted expects to get the silo ready again before the end of 2024, and then Ørsted will no longer either have or use coal as a reserve fuel.