Fossil Power
“Most of all, you have
to guarantee security
of supply.”
The Golden Age of Gas
Roland Fischer, CEO,
Power Generation Division
In an age of cleaner, decentralized, and more efficient
power generation, a variety of new energy producers with
diverse needs have entered the market. Roland Fischer,
CEO of the Power Generation Division at Siemens, discusses
the role of fossil fuels in a “more colorful world.”
Text: Marc Engelhardt
Photos: Detlef Schneider
R
oland Fischer, as head of
Power Generation at
Siemens Energy, you have
stated your aim as being to provide
clean energy and raise the living
standards of a growing global
population. What do you see as
the biggest misconception when
it comes to fossil fuels?
Roland Fischer: Fossil fuels are seen
by some as kind of a dinosaur, destined for extinction. But that’s far
from the truth. In fact, fossil fuels are
modern and sustainable. They will
have a great future, certainly for the
next 100 years.
What role specifically will fossils
play?
R. Fischer: We are witnessing rapid
global population growth, along with
a boom in industrialization. The big
question is: How do we cover the rising
demand for energy? In the past, we
had centralized production of energy,
which was then transmitted and
distributed to industry and private
households. Today, we see the dawning
of a new age: Electrification is becoming ever more important. Along with
a rising demand, there is a trend
towards decentralized and very specific
solutions. Siemens is a German
company, but we are a global player,
and we deliver solutions for the world.
30 Living Energy · No. 9 | December 2013
And that world has become much
more diverse, more colorful than ever.
But with all the diversity, fossil fuels
will keep their important role.
Can you give an example of how
fossils will fit in?
R. Fischer: Look at the situation in
Germany, which has witnessed a
transformative shift in energy production towards renewables. This
transition has brought numerous
challenges. You have a rise in fluctuating energy sources like solar or
wind, both on- and offshore, with a
huge impact on the grid and its stability. Most of all, you have to guarantee security of supply; that is, you
have to guarantee that there is reliable power even when the wind is not
blowing and the sun not shining.
That’s where you need fossil fuels. In
other countries, fossils are crucial for
different reasons. Korea, for example, has a fast-growing demand that
cannot be covered by renewables only, and hence has to rely on fossil
fuels, even though the country has
almost no fossil energy resources of
its own and must rely on imported
liquefied natural gas (LNG).
You have said that you believe we’re
entering a “Golden Age of Gas.” Why
gas, of all the fossil fuels there are?
R. Fischer: Gas is a most flexible
power source. When it is used in a
gas turbine, you can control the
output of a gas-fired power plant
quite rapidly, according to need.
Building a gas-fired power plant is
also quite economical, as it costs
about one-third as much as a steam
power plant. Construction is much
quicker: It takes a year and a half to
build a gas-fired power plant, while
a steam power plant might take four
years to complete. Then there is the
issue of greenhouse gas emissions.
A modern, highly efficient gas-fired
power plant like the one we built in
Irsching, based on H-class turbines,
emits around 300 grams of CO2 per
kilowatt-hour. Even a highly efficient,
supercritical steam power plant will
emit more than 800 grams – while old
ones emit more than 1,000 grams.
How important is efficiency really,
given that in many parts of the
world the price of gas is so low at
the moment?
R. Fischer: It’s important to acknowledge the long-term planning horizon
for the development of our products,
with both steam and gas. We’re talking
about considerable investments over
many years. So it’s important to plan
well ahead as to where the market is
heading in the medium and long term. u
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Fossil Power
After all, a gas turbine constructed today will be in use for the next 30 or
40 years! And when you plan on such
a scale, it becomes obvious that efficiency doesn’t only save you money
right here right now. Efficiency is also
crucial when it comes to emissions,
because any unit of fuel not burned is
an emission not created. Emissions
do not seem to be at the top of the
agenda today everywhere in the world,
but I am convinced that only a few
years from now, the issue will become
prominent again due to global warming. And the question of lowering
emissions is directly connected to better efficiency ratios.
Talking about efficiency ratios,
how much more can efficiency
actually be increased?
R. Fischer: The technological development of the past decades has been
astonishing. Going back only 20 years,
comparing an E-class turbine from
back then with today’s H-class turbine,
you have a difference in terms of the
efficiency ratio of 7 to 8 percent. For an
engineer, that is a world of difference.
And the variety of means employed
to make that possible is impressive:
new materials, new designs, new
coating techniques. Two years ago,
we achieved a world record with an
efficiency ratio of 60.75 percent at the
Irsching plant, and since then, we
have even gone further. But this is
not a linear process, and we can’t expect
the efficiency ratio to increase at the
same rate until 2030. It will definitely
increase, however.
You have stated that the world has
become more colorful. Where in
this colorful world do you expect
the biggest growth in the gas
market?
R. Fischer: First of all, there is Saudi
Arabia, where many large-scale power
plants are currently being built. In
Qurayyah, for instance, we are installing 12 SGT6-5000F turbines in one
plant. Secondly, there is the USA, still
one of the biggest national markets in
power generation. The USA is currently
experiencing a boom in shale gas
production, which has brought everlower gas prices. The demand there
32 Living Energy · No. 9 | December 2013
Fossil Power
Roland Fischer
ready to deliver once the Russian state
allocates funds for building more
efficient, more cost-effective power
plants, which will be mainly gas.
“The one-size-fitsall solution no
longer exists.”
Roland Fischer, CEO,
Power Generation Division
Background
Born in Mengen, Germany, in 1962,
Roland Fischer holds a PhD in
aeronautical engineering from the
Technical University of Karlsruhe.
He is married, with two children.
Professional Experience
and Education
After studying aeronautical engineering at the University of Stuttgart,
Fischer joined German aero engine
manufacturer MTU in Munich. While
finishing his PhD thesis, Fischer rose
up the ranks to become Senior Vice
President in charge of the Defense
is not just for a net addition of power
plants, but also for replacement
of power plants that are 40 or even
50 years old. The economic development is positive, and I expect that
new plants will be needed to match
the reserve margin sooner or later –
it’s just a question of time. We’re well
prepared for that moment: In the past
years, we have developed our gas
turbine factory in Charlotte, North
Carolina, and moved our gas operations from Canada to the USA. In
China, the government is promoting
Program at MTU before he joined
Siemens in 2008. “A turbine hanging
from the wing of an aircraft might feel
differently from a turbine in a power
plant, but technically, it’s very much
the same thing,” Fischer says.
On those rare occasions when Fischer
has a minute to spare at his desk in
Erlangen, he likes to look at a huge
photograph of the biggest steam
turbine Siemens has manufactured so
far – the biggest of its kind in the
world at 1.7 gigawatts. “It constantly
reminds me of the basis of our
business, which simply is the best
technology,” he says.
the entire spectrum of energy sources,
but it’s the sheer scale that makes the
market so attractive. We’re talking
about requirements of roughly 35 new
turbines a year. Turkey is one of the
few regions in Europe where plants
are currently being built. And last but
not least, there is Russia: a huge
country with very specific needs,
mostly in the area of heat and power
cogeneration. The situation there
is similar to that in the USA. We’re
currently building a gas turbine
factory in Saint Petersburg that will be
How does diversity affect the
energy producers?
R. Fischer: It’s not only the world in
general that has become more colorful;
the same is true for the energy production landscape in each country. On
the one hand, large utilities operating
gas-fired, nuclear, or steam power
plants are realigning towards wind
and solar parks and towards smaller
units or cogeneration of heat and power. On the other hand, you have new,
smaller energy providers popping up,
like municipal utilities. Even oil and
gas companies are now asking for big
power plants that ten years ago would
only have been bought by a utility.
Gone are the days when you had a
few large power plants and simply
adjusted the daily output to fluctuations in demand. For us, that means
that the one-size-fits-all solution no
longer exists. Nowadays, we cooperate
intensively with our clients at a very
early stage in the planning of solutions.
Together, we develop scenarios, while
we at Siemens offer information about
trends and explanations as to what is
technologically feasible.
You’re the head of a division that
has recently been merged – what
concrete benefits can customers expect from the new Power Generation Division?
R. Fischer: With the changing market
and the increasingly diversified needs
both of traditional utility companies
and of companies in the oil and gas
market, we have decided to change our
organizational structure. The former
Fossil Power Generation Division and
the Oil & Gas Division have been
merged to the new Power Generation
Division, covering the entire rotating
equipment portfolio from small gas
turbines of merely 5 megawatts up to
H-class turbines with 400 megawatts.
We are determined to deliver to our
clients a complete suite of services
from a single source. Then, of course,
there is also a potential for synergies:
Large and small gas turbines alike
adhere to the same laws of physics and
are based on a similar design.
Is there any concern that oil and
gas will feature less prominently
in Siemens’ strategy in the future,
given that they have vanished from
the organizational chart?
R. Fischer: The opposite is the case:
We’re currently even preparing a new
sales approach tailored to our oil and
gas clients that will ensure an optimized service for all products Siemens
is offering – even beyond the products
developed in the Power Generation Division, be they engines from the
Siemens Industry Sector or distribution elements allocated through our
Infrastructure & Cities Sector.
Siemens is a huge company, and we
want to make sure that our clients in
this very important, rapidly growing
oil and gas segment get all the
answers and solutions they need.
How much time do you spend with
the clients?
R. Fischer: A lot of time! Given the
global nature of our business, I travel
very frequently. And I think the most
important thing is to go out and talk
to the clients, and work with them. We
have to understand what bothers
them, especially in a phase like this
where big changes are happening
everywhere in the world. p
Marc Engelhardt is a veteran correspondent
for various German media based in Geneva.
His focus is on business, applied sciences, and
politics.
Together for More Efficiency
The new Power Generation Division
took up its work in October 2013,
with Roland Fischer as its CEO. Combining the former Fossil Power Generation and Oil & Gas Divisions, it consolidates all gas and steam turbine
performance classes under a single
heading.
The market is growing at breakneck
speed: Global power generation is set
to rise from 21 terawatt-hours today
to 36.7 terawatt-hours in 2030, with
fossil fuels continuing to serve as the
backbone of production.
Efficiency is crucial: The Ulrich
Hartmann Power Plant in Irsching,
Germany, equipped with turbines
and a generator made by Siemens,
achieved an unprecedented 60.75 percent efficiency ratio in 2011, setting
a new world record. The Dangjin 3
power plant in South Korea, handed
over in August 2013, is equipped
with a Siemens H-class turbine and
runs at an efficiency ratio of almost
61 percent. That makes it the most efficient fossil-fired power plant in Asia.
Siemens turbines help reduce emissions: Equipped with Siemens steam
turbine technology, the Waigaoqiao
III power plant in Shanghai alone
has reduced China’s CO2 emissions
by 1.9 million tonnes annually. In
Irsching, the H-class turbine helps
reduce annual CO2 emissions by
43,000 tonnes compared to current
CCPPs – the equivalent of the annual
emissions of more than 10,000 midsized cars traveling 20,000 kilometers per year.
New projects shape the future:
A combined cycle plant currently
under construction in Düsseldorf,
Germany, will boast an electrical
output of 595 megawatts, more
than any single power plant in
combined cycle operation. Never
before has it been possible to
extract 300 megawatts of thermal
energy from a single combined
cycle plant for use in a district
heating system.
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