Block 3, Line 5 © Adcom
Rothensee Waste-to-Energy Plant
Projects
Construction of Block 3 at the Rothensee Waste-to-Energy Plant
Client
Rothensee Waste-to-Energy Plant Ltd
Location
Magdeburg
The Rothensee waste-to-energy plant (MHKW) near Magdeburg was successfully commissioned back in 2005. Since 2020, EEW Energy from Waste GmbH, based in Helmstedt, and Städtische Werke Magdeburg have been commissioned to build a new waste-to-energy plant alongside the two existing units.
There were many reasons in favour of expanding the plant, not least the high volume of waste, particularly waste with a high calorific value.
In Rothensee, the new unit will incinerate around 270,000 tonnes more waste per year than before.
In addition, an integrated sewage sludge incineration facility was built alongside the core waste incineration plant. This enables a further approximately 55,000 tonnes per annum (dry matter content 25 per cent) to be disposed of professionally whilst generating energy. The completion, handover and subsequent inauguration of the new facility were celebrated in September 2024.
Until then, the power station had been converting around 650,000 tonnes per annum of household waste and similar materials into electricity and district heating through thermal processing. The new unit will enable this volume to be increased to approximately 1,000,000 tonnes per annum. This is likely to make the Magdeburg site the largest plant in Germany and one of the largest in Europe. The integrated sewage sludge incineration process also provides sewage sludge ash for phosphorus recycling.
The region benefits from energy that is kind to the climate and conserves resources, and is a key economic driver.
Poolar Functions Used
Defects
Site Diary
Plan Review
Invoices
Photos
Specific Challenges and the Use of Poolar.Project
The construction of the additional block repeatedly presented the developers with new, unforeseeable challenges. For example, it was unfortunate that the preliminary and conceptual design phases, the planning permission phase and the tendering phase for the main contracts coincided exactly with the COVID-19 lockdown period.
The poolarPROJECT project workspace enabled all those involved to connect digitally and provided transparency regarding progress, tasks and responsibilities. The minutes module allowed for the immediate documentation and editing of what was discussed during the online meetings. The allocation of information and tasks ‘at the touch of a button’ to the personnel with responsibility immediately following meetings streamlined the process.
An unplanned, very extensive in-depth survey for the clearance of unexploded ordnance took up additional time and incurred high costs. Added to this were supply bottlenecks for building materials and electronic components. Thanks to the dashboard, it was possible to keep track of delays and revised conditions at a glance. Additional costs could be communicated transparently and monitored via the invoice workflow / project controlling module.
At that point, many tender processes had not yet been finalised and it was difficult to conclude contracts. Using the contract module made documentation, monitoring and finalisation easier.
Defect management is incredibly helpful to us because we list all defects here. We used to have Excel spreadsheets that required a great deal of effort to maintain. With the defect management system, we have a well-organised workflow and can directly involve those concerned via email and by granting them access. It also saves us time and ensures we have a good audit trail.
Jens Esslinger, Project Manager at EEW Energy from Waste GmbH
Our Software
Poolar.Project
As a CDE platform for construction projects, Poolar.Project supports digital collaboration amongst all project members. Plans, documents, tasks and key construction processes are consolidated within a secure project workspace.
Task Management
Workflows
Construction Site Tools
BIM
Poolar.Office
Poolar.Office makes it easier to manage internal office processes: it is designed as an intranet solution and enables cross-project tracking of working hours, resource planning, internal administration and more.
Customisable Home Page
Human Resources Management
Time Tracking
