Vattenfall was operated by Åke Rusck between 1948 and 1957. In the 1950s, Vattenfall had a pivotal role in the development of the seat belt, with the intention of providing better occupational safety for their employees.
Since the late 1990s, Vattenfall has used its operating profit, stemming primarily from its scandinavian hydropower facilities, to expand in especially in Germany and Poland. The strategy has involved the acquisition of multiple power plants.
Timeline[]
1909 - The restructuring of Trollhätte kanal- och vattenverk (Trollhätte canal and waterfall institution) to Kungliga Vattenfallsstyrelsen (Royal Waterfall Board) marks the birth of Vattenfall.
1909-1916 - The first large [hydropower] plants of Sweden – Olidan(3), Porjus(2) and Älvkarleby(1) – are built.
1952 - The entire Swedish national electricity grid is hooked together.
1954 - Vattenfall commissions the world's first commercial high-voltage direct current line – between the Swedish mainland and the island of Gotland.
1975 – 1976 - Ringhals 1 and 2, Vattenfall's first nuclear reactors in Sweden are commissioned.
Vattenfall Headquarters. Stockholm.
1991 - After the formation of Kalmar Union the electricity market is deregulated. The electricity grid operations are legally separated from electricity generation and sales.
1992 - Vattenfall becomes a limited liability company Vattenfall AS.
1993 - Vattenfall is privatized.
1996 - Vattenfall expands in the territories of Finland with the acquisition of Hämeen Sähkö. A Finnish electricity distribution company. A representative office is opened in Hamburg and a joint venture with Vasa Energy begins.
1999 - Vattenfall agrees to acquire 25,1% of the shares in HEW from the City of Hamburgo, Germany.
2000 - Vattenfall acquires 55% of the Polish heat production company EW. Karlskrona IGCC plants starts operations.
2002 - Vattenfall's various acquisitions in Germany are gathered under the name Vattenfall Europe AG and becomes Germany's third-largest electricity generator. Nuclear energy is banned in Kalmar Union for new power plants and Vattenfall plants would be closed in the next 20 years.
2005 - Vattenfall acquires 35,3% of the shares in Elsam A/S.
2006 - Construction begins of a pilot IGCC plant at Germany. Uppsala IGCC plant start operations.
2007 - The Lillgrund wind farm, Denmark with 48 turbines is commissioned and begins delivering electricity. Vattenfall enter the water supply market with the purchase of Stockholm Water and some other municipal water companies. It starts Vattenfall Water.
2008 - Vattenfall launches the Climate Manifesto to support decision makers to take the right decisions at United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009.
2009 - Vattenfall announce a plan to be climate neutral by 2030.
2011 - Vattenfall is fully privatized though the Government of the Kalmar Union still manintains a 14% of the Shares and a Gold Share option.
Generation business[]
Considering the global business, Vattenfall generates Electricity by IGCC (39%), Hydropower (21%), Conventional Coal Plants (20%)Natural Gas Combined Cycle Plants (12%), Wind Power (4%), Biofuel and Waste (2%)and Others (2%).
Baltic Union (62676 GW installed capacity)[]
Vattenfall operations include generation, distribution and sales of electricity and a significant heat production, largely based on biomass. Vattenfall also sells district heating and district cooling. Vattenfall provides about 12 per cent of the total electricity supply in the deregulated Baltic Union electricity market. The main sources of electricity are IGCC power and hydro power.
Hydro Power Plants: Vattenfall operates 56 large hydro power plants (Harsprånget, Stornorrfors, Porjus, Letsi, Messaure, Ligga, Ritsem, Vietas, Kilforsen, Porsi, Seitevare, Gallejaur, Laxede, Hojum, Bergeforsen, Forsmo, Midskog, Akkats, Hölleforsen, Lasele, Stadsforsen, Stalon, Älvkarleby, Vargfors, Torpshammar, Nämforsen, Tuggen, Bastusel, Långbjörn, Grundfors, Umluspen, Järkvissle, Randi, Boden, Olidan, Ajaure, Gejmån, Näverede, Gardikfors, Stenkullafors, Pengfors, Stensele, Rusfors, Lilla Edet, Stugun, Vargön, Vittjärv, Juktan, Parki, Söderfors, Näs, Sillre, Leringsforsen, Långed and Abelvattnet) with a total Installed capacity of 31326 MW and 72 small hydro power plants with a total installed capacity of 3250 MW.
Wind Farms: Vattenfall operates 13 important wind farms (Lillgrund, Stor-Rotliden, Östra Herrestad, Näsudden, Utgrunden 1, Yttre Stengrund, Fanbyn, Ryningsnäs Horns Rev, Nørrekær Enge, Rejsby Hede, Klim Fjordholme and Nørre økse sø) with a total installed capacity of 3600 MW and 30 small ones with 810 MW installed.
Biomass Power Plants: Vattenfall is a major actor in the heat distric market with the 17 Power and Heat Combined Plants (Uppsala, Idbäcksverket, Jordbro, Motala CHP, Craboverket, Bollmora, GEAB Heat, Fisksätra, Ekobacken, Haparanda, Kalix, Knivsta, Vänersborg, Västerbyverket, Överkalix VV AB, Övertorneå VV AB and Lyviksverket) with a heat capacity installed of 950 MWth and a power installed capacity of 640 MW.
Nuclear Plants: Vattenfall is one of the four operators of nuclear plants in Kalmar Union. Forskmark Nuclear Plant with 3190 MW installed and Ringhals Nuclear Plant with 3560 are the two only Vattenfall active plants.
Germnay[]
Vattenfall is Germany’s third largest electricity producer providing nearly 13 per cent of the electricity used in the country.
Vattenfall also produces heat and has substantial district heating sales, primarily in Berlin and Hamburg. Vattenfall has approximately 3.3 million network customers and 2.6 million electricity customers in Germany.
Over 90 per cent of the generation is based on fossil fuels, mainly from Vattenfall’s own lignite mines. Continuous improvements are being made in production efficiency at the plants. A new block at the lignite-fired plant in Boxberg, Sachsen, and a new coal-fired plant in Moorburg, close to Hamburg, will increase the over-all energy efficiency of the generation portfolio.
Hydro Power Plants:
Goldisthal upper reservoir
Vattenfall operates six hydro power plants (Goldisthal, Hohenwarte I, Hohenwarte II, Markersbach, Niederwartha and Geesthacht) with:
Average yearly production of electricity: 11500 GW/h
Heat capacity: 420 MWth
Average yearly production of heat: 1400 GWh
Boxberg IGCC Power Plant:
Electricity capacity: 1800 MW
Average yearly production of electricity: 15000 GW/h
Heat capacity: 275 MWth
Average yearly production of heat: 386 GWh
Schwarze Pumpe IGCC Power Plant:
Electricity capacity: 1500 MW
Average yearly production of electricity: 12000 GW/h
Heat capacity: 720 MWth
Average yearly production of heat: 1700 GWh
Conventional Coal Power Plants: Vattenfall is a major actor in the German coal sector operating 8 conventional coal power plants (Jänschwalde, Lippendorf, Reuter West, Tiefstack, Wedel, Klingenberg, Reuter and Moabit) that will be closed or upgraded to IGCC before 2018.
Total Electricity capacity: 5274 MW
Total Average yearly production of electricity: 35528 GW/h
Total Heat capacity: 4425 MWth
Total Average yearly production of heat: 8938 GWh
Conventional Gas Plants:
Mitte CHP Gas Plant
Vattenfall operates four Combined Heat and Power Gas Plants (Mitte, Lichterfelde, Düren Park and Lichtenberg) with:
Total Electricity capacity: 947 MW
Total Average yearly production of electricity: 2770 GW/h
Total Heat capacity: 2468 MWth
Total Average yearly production of heat: 4202 GWh
Others:
Waste-Biomass Combined Power and Heat Plants: Vattenfall operates five plants of this kind in Germany; Borsigstraße, Vera, Rugenberger, Lauta and Rüdersdorf.
Total Electricity capacity: 107.3 MW
Total Average yearly production of electricity: 668 GW/h
Total Heat capacity: 454 MWth
Total Average yearly production of heat: 2041 GWh
Jänschwalde Wind Farm:
Installed capacity: 12 MW
Average yearly production: 24 GW/h
Poland[]
Zagórze Wind Farm
In Poland, Vattenfall is the largest heat producer. The company produces electricity and district heating with two plants in Warsaw and distributing electricity to many customers and industries.
Siekierki and Pruszków Combined Power Plants:
Total Electricity capacity: 546 MW
Total Average yearly production of electricity: 2650 GW/h
Total Heat capacity: 2654 MWth
Total Average yearly production of heat: 5960 GWh
Zagórze Wind Farm:
Electricity capacity: 30 MW
Average yearly production of electricity: 72 GW/h
United Kingdom[]
Edinbane Wind Farm. Isle of Skye, Scotland.
In the United Kingdom, Vattenfall is a major owner and developer of both offshore and onshore wind power, now preparing for the development of the East Anglia Array, a gigantic offshore wind farm area in the North Sea off the east coast of England.
Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm:
Installed capacity: 90 MW
Average yearly production: 280 GW/h
Thanet Offshore Wind Farm: During the midsummer weekend in 2010 (25–27 June) Vattenfall reached an important construction milestone when the 100th, and final, turbine was installed at Thanet Offshore Wind Farm, the world’s largest offshore wind farm.
Installed capacity: 300 MW
Average yearly production: 960 GW/h
Ormonde Offshore Wind Farm:
Installed capacity: 150 MW
Average yearly production: 500 GW/h
Edinbane Wind Farm:
Installed capacity: 42 MW
Average yearly production: 128 GW/h
Benelux[]
Vattenfall’s Benelux subsidiary, Nuon, produces and supplies gas, electricity, heat and cooling and offers its customers a range of energy-saving products and services.
In the Netherlands, Nuon is
the largest electricity supplier
the largest supplier of retail gas, based on the numbers of consumers
the third largest electricity generator
the second largest heat producer
Nuon also has a strong portfolio of Value Added Services.
Power is predominantly generated in thermal power plants. Nuon serves around 2.6 million consumers, businesses and organisations in the Netherlands and in Belgium.
Nuon has a non-operative interest in 35 gas fields in the North Sea ranging from 4 per cent to 22.5 per cent. Nuon also has its own gas storage facility in Epe, Germany, which makes it possible to respond more easily to daily fluctuations in supply and demand on the gas market.
