Large-scale emergency operation after a fire in a power plant in Nuremberg
The heat supply could be maintained with combined efforts
After a fire in a power plant in Nuremberg on the 8th February 2021, the district heating supply for approximately 15,000 residents in two urban quarters were massively impaired. With a large-scale operation, the heat supply could be ensured temporarily with a large number of mobile heating units. The local SHAC specialist company Hofmann Haustechnik in cooperation with Hotmobil, the rental specialist for mobile energy centers, was substantially involved.
Disaster alarm in Nuremberg
The shocking news about the fire in the large power station in Franconia surprised the responsible people on Monday evening. It quickly became clear that the power plant would be out of operation for some time and that mobile heating units must be used to tide over the heat supply for the concerned households. The Town of Nuremberg declared a state of emergency and crisis teams were called to action. The extreme winter temperatures in the double-digit minus range made the situation even worse and required quick action.
13 mobile heating units supply 13.2 megawatts
Right the next day, Hotmobil delivered the first heating containers and mobile heating units to the required locations. In close cooperation with the local specialist SHAC company Hofmann Haustechnik, the mobile heating units were installed at the respective places of use and put into operation. The heat supply to a hospital and two large retirement homes was top priority because these institutions were particularly sensible areas. ”Within a very short time, we made the almost impossible possible!” said Werner Klier, managing director of Hofmann Haustechnik, about the action. 12 heating engineers of the specialist SHAC company and four service technicians from Hotmobil worked right around the clock and with great effort in order to install and commission 13 heating units at different locations in the concerned quarters. Another important subject was the organization of the fuel supply. For this, seven mobile heating oil tanks were used in order to supply the mobile heating units permanently with fuel. The heating specialists of the company Hofmann Haustechnik took care of the trouble-free operation of the units around the clock and organized the timely refilling of the heating oil tanks.
Successful cooperation
”The cooperation of the two companies proceeded hand in hand. We benefited from the good experiences we have made during former common projects. For everyone involved, these days meant a big challenge that could only be handled with combined efforts”, said Klier about the extraordinary large-scale operation in February 2021. Even for the rental specialist Hotmobil, the short-term provision and delivery of so many mobile heating units was an enormous feat because this emergency operation had to be carried out in the main season for mobile heat. ”We are used to act quickly in emergency cases and to provide a solution on short call in case of heating failures but, in this case, we were asked to provide and supply a large number of mobile heating units and heating oil tanks within a very short time,” said Edgar Rebhan, the Hotmobil field service operative, about the rescue operation. For one week, the interrupted district heating supply in the concerned urban quarters were tided over by mobile heating units.
A total number of 13 mobile heating unit with a total power of 13.2 megawatts were used in Nuremberg for the emergency measure:
• 4 mobile heating units in a trailer with a power of 550 kW each
• 2 mobile heating units in a trailer with a power of 350 kW each
• 4 mobile special heating units with a power of 700 kW each
• 3 mobile heating containers with a power of 2.5 MW each
• 7 mobile tanks, total capacity 127,000 liters