Due to the necessary close-down of old power stations and the phasing out of nuclear energy regulated by law, power supply companies are forced to find a way to replace these capacities in order to guarantee sufficient power supply in the future.

Therefore, EnBW is planning to turn an existing gas and steam turbine block RDK 6 on its premises near the Rhine harbour in Karlsruhe into a modern RDK 6S, thus boosting its output, plus extending it by a coal fired block RDK 8.

In order to do so, it was necessary to submit a project specific development plan.

The municipal council passed the plan in its last session before Christmas with a broad majority. It became legal and binding on December 17.

The environmental report prescribed in the framework of the development plan proceedings, especially as far as expert opinions on air pollution control, noise protection and safety are concerned, was prepared and coordinated by the engineering company Müller-BBM.

In this report, the environmental impact of the project was described and evaluated comprehensively. On the objective basis of this report, the municipal council has given its positive vote for the project, which had been subject of controversial discussions in public.