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22 April 2004 - GE Jenbacher has supplied 14 cogeneration systems to Europe's largest coal mine gas plant, Fenne, which is owned by SaarEnergie and located in the district of Fenne near Saarbrücken, Germany, GE Energy announced Wednesday.
The JMS 620 GS cogeneration systems produce more than 40 MW of electricity and nearly 41 MW of thermal energy. This coal mine gas plant is now also Europe's largest gas engine-powered combined heat and power (CHP) plant to be subsidized under the European Renewable Energies Act. The power station's annual production capacity of 350 000 MWh of both electrical and thermal energy is able to meet the requirements of 80 000 households.
The Fenne mine gas plant offers significant economic features, with a total efficiency of 84.4 per cent (42.1 per cent electrical, 42.3 per cent thermal). The electricity is fed into an industrial grid and the heat is supplied to a district heating system. To ensure the long-term reliability of the plant, GE Jenbacher has recently signed a maintenance contract for all 14 modules. The contract includes both preventive and corrective service and encompasses inspections and maintenance work.
Coal mine gas, which is 25 to 60 per cent methane, together with air can form an explosive mixture. Coal mine gas is present both as liberated gas in fissure faults and pores and as absorbed gas on the inner surface of the coal and neighbouring rock. Combustion of this gas in gas engines effectively resolves environmental and safety problems while economically utilizing an otherwise lost source of energy. For nearly 20 years, GE Jenbacher has specialized in the combustion of special gases in its gas engines.
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