Ørsted shuts down Esbjerg coal-fired power station

Danish energy company Ørsted has announced that on 31 August 2024, it will shut down its last coal-fired combined heat and power plant, Esbjerg Power Station, located in the Western part of Denmark.

The yearly consumption of coal at Esbjerg Power Station has been approximately 500,000 tonnes, which is equivalent to approximately 1.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

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.

"...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.”

Since 2006, Ørsted 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.

The shutdown 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 science-based targets to reduce its scope 1-2 emissions intensity by 98 % by 2025.

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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

To ensure the security of the electricity supply in Denmark, Ørsted will continue and resume operations of three of its power station units, which use oil and coal as fuel. This includes 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.

On 31 August, Ørsted will also shut 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.