Supplier capacity could jeopardize German plans to build gas-fired power plants

Several major energy companies have warned of a potential shortage of components needed to manufacture gas turbines. Germany is planning to rely heavily on them as it phases out coal-fired power plants by 2030. The report was published by the international news outlet Clean Energy Wire, citing the German newspaper Handelsblatt.

Germany plans to hold four tenders for gas-fired power plants with a total installed capacity of 10 GW in the near future. Plans announced last summer had called for an even greater capacity from new gas-fired power plants, which will be essential for generating electricity in the future when solar and wind power plants cannot provide enough capacity to meet demand.

Even 10 GW, however, will pose a considerable challenge for suppliers of gas turbines. This is also because Germany is not the only country planning to build gas-fired power plants in the coming years; neighboring countries are doing so as well, including the Czech Republic.

Turbine blades are a critical component

According to Clean Energy Wire, Siemens Energy CEO Christian Bruch said that the largest gas turbine suppliers—including Siemens Energy, Mitsubishi, General Electric and Harbin Electric—have sufficient capacity to manufacture gas turbines, but certain components can be sourced from only a handful of suppliers. Turbine blades are expected to be a particularly critical component.

The tight market situation was confirmed by Georg Stamatelopoulos, a member of the executive board of German energy company EnBW, and a number of other industry experts. They said the problem would become acute if all the orders arrived at the same time. A key to success, therefore, will be a gradual, coordinated build-out of new gas-fired power plants.

According to Handelsblatt, gas turbine suppliers can deliver around 100 large gas turbines per year. The largest have a capacity of more than 500 MW.