Clean air for Dresden

Combustion produces not only energy and heat, but also air pollutants such as dust, sulphur dioxide and carbon dioxide. However, more environment-friendly fuels and modern filter technologies can greatly reduce the pollutant load.

Over the past few years, DREWAG has steadily reduced its air pollutant emissions, thereby greatly improving the quality of the air breathed by Dresden’s inhabitants. We are very keen that Dresden should be able to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions in accordance with the City’s commitment under the Agenda 21 scheme.

Cleaner air: the figures
We have reduced dust and sulphur dioxide emissions by over 90 % since 1991. Emissions of nitrogen oxide have fallen by 74 % and carbon dioxide by 56 %.

Nearly € 350 million invested
This huge reduction did not come about by chance: we decommissioned old plants, switched to more environment-friendly fuels such as natural gas and built new plants which meet the latest environmental standards. Coal has not been burnt in any of our power stations since 1997. In the years 1991-1999 alone we spent approximately DM 150 million (around € 75 million) on these projects, but the centrepiece of our air pollution prevention campaign was the construction of a new gas turbine heat and power plant at Nossener Brücke at a cost of roughly DM 540 million (approx. € 270 million). This made old power plants redundant.

The measures which had most impact were:

	The decommissioning of the Cotta combined heat and power plant (fired by raw lignite) in 1992.
	Conversion of the Dresden North CHP plant from solid fuel to natural gas or light fuel oil in 1992/93 and the addition of a further gas turbine in 1995.
	Gradual decommissioning of the Dresden Central CHP plant between 1990 and 1994.
	Decommissioning of the Marienallee heat plant, fired by coal and lignite briquettes, in May 1995.
	Decommissioning of the old Nossener Brücke CHP plant in March 1997, thus removing the last solid fuel fired plant from the network.

This means that DREWAG’s installations are now state-of-the-art. In future, pollutant emissions will remain at their present level or else fluctuate according to consumer demand for power and district heat. Naturally, we will continue to take every opportunity to reduce pollutant emissions still further - by maintaining and optimising the district heating network, by promoting renewable energies through the Innovation Fund or by advising customers on ways of saving energy.

For more information about environmental protection:



	Prevention of air pollution Electromagnetic fields Prevention of water pollution Waste management Innovation Fund Green energy