The Amercentrale is a coal-fired power plant of Essent

Essent

Essent NV, based in Arnhem, The Netherlands, is an energy company. It is a public limited liability corporation. Essent is one of the largest players on the energy market in its chief market the Netherlands, and also operates in Belgium...

 in the municipality Geertruidenberg

Geertruidenberg

Geertruidenberg is a city and municipality in the province North Brabant in the south of the Netherlands. The city, named after Saint Gertrude of Nivelles, received city rights in 1213 from the count of Holland. The fortified city prospered until the 15th century.Today, the municipality of...

. The plant is named after the Amer River and is located on the left bank of this river. In 1952 Unit 1 of the first Amercentrale began generating electricity. The much smaller Dongecentrale is located near the Amercentrale.

Technical specifications

The power plant consists of 2 units together generating 1245 MW of power and 600 MW of heat generated for heating homes and greenhouses. The plant provides a large part of southern Netherlands of electricity and also supplies heat to the horticultural areas. There are currently four units, peak load units 6-7, unit 8 (in operation since 1980) and unit 9 (in operation since 1993). Only the latter two are currently in use. Currently plans are being developed to build a new coal and biomass-fired unit of about 800 MW.