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6
Bert Hermans
'Power Plant Maasvlakte 2' (2013)
Oil on Canvas
40 x 30 cm

This painting is the second of three paintings of the old power plant on the Maasvlakte near Rotterdam. It shows the power plant in evening light. The old power plant consisted of two units: unit 1 & 2. They were built for the former GEB Rotterdam in the early 1970s as a gas-fired power station. Unit 1 went into operation in 1973 and Unit 2 in 1974. In the context of fuel diversification (independence from oil/gas in the event of an energy crisis such as the 1973 oil crisis), the units were converted to coal firing in the early 1980s, with the possibility to burn natural gas. The power station was started up with no light oil. The great advantage of the location on the Maasvlakte was that it is located on deep waters, which made it possible to supply coal with ease, and that there was sufficient cooling water.
Because the Electricity Act 1989 prescribed that electricity production had to be separated from distribution and supply, the power station came under the ownership and management of the Zuid-Holland Electricity Company (EZH) in 1987. Around that time, more attention was also paid to harmful emissions from coal-fired power stations. The fly ash was already captured, and around 1990 the power station was equipped with a flue gas desulphurisation installation (ROI).
In 2000, EZH was acquired by E.ON for a total amount of 1.1 billion euros. The name was changed to E.ON Benelux. In 2016 this name was changed in connection with the split from E.ON changed to Uniper Benelux. Units 1 and 2 were closed on 1 July 2017 as a result of the national Energy Agreement for sustainable growth.