The RDS CHP is situated in the industrial area on the premises of Solvay Bernburg with access to the CHP via Bundesstraße 185 (main road). The refuse-derived fuel (RDF (EBS) = presorted refuse from households and industry) is supplied by truck via the road and then unloaded into the RDF bunker from several dumping stations. The bunker is carried out as massive construction with reinforced concrete and equipped with bunker gates which are only opened to unload the RDF. Inside the bunker is a permanent vacuum to prevent diffuse emissions escaping into the ambient atmosphere.

In full load operation the plant can generate up to 225 t/hour (max. steam generation) high-pressure steam to supply the production facilities at site and to generate electricity in an extraction condensing turbine.

An underground bunker was built to store the refuse-derived fuel. All walls and the floor are built of reinforced concrete. Bunker walls and bunker floor are protected against chemical and mechanical wear and also against ingression or leakage of water. The bunker floor is situated below ground level (here on level -3.00 m). The refuse-derived fuel is unloaded into the underground bunker at several dumping stations from the trucks delivering the RDF. The dumping stations are situated significantly above bunker floor (here +6.00 m). It is possible to stack the refuse-derived fuel against the bunker walls in the underground bunker. Thus, the height of the stacks makes it possible to create a large storage volume on a small surface area.

Wayss & Freytag Ingenieurbau AG carried out construction lot 2 comprising the following elements:

a bunker in reinforced concrete construction, a control unit building in reinforced concrete construction, social and administrative building, adjoining buildings (goods lift, control building, building for a weighing machine, workshop), ramp and access area, foundation for the boiler house, various foundations for service buildings, construction of all roads and outdoor facilities.

The CHP plant was built for Energie Anlage Bernburg (EAB – Energy System Bernburg) GmbH, a group company of company Tönsmeier Dienstleistung GmbH & Co. KG and Solvay Chemicals GmbH. Solvay Chemicals GmbH operates a production facility in Bernburg for the production of, among others, soda. For this production, significant quantities of electrical energy and thermal energy in the form of process steam are required. To date this was produced in the in-house power plant on the basis of the primary energy carrier natural gas. Due to increasing energy prices and in order to protect fossil resources, alternatives for a sustainable and low priced energy production were sought. Finally, the decision was made to build a CHP plant for the thermal use of refuse-derived fuel (RDS) to supply the plant with energy.

The RDS CHP is situated in the industrial area on the premises of Solvay Bernburg with access to the CHP via Bundesstraße 185 (main road). The refuse-derived fuel (RDF (EBS) = presorted refuse from households and industry) is supplied by truck via the road and then unloaded into the RDF bunker from several dumping stations. The bunker is carried out as massive construction with reinforced concrete and equipped with bunker gates which are only opened to unload the RDF. Inside the bunker is a permanent vacuum to prevent diffuse emissions escaping into the ambient atmosphere. In full load operation the plant can generate up to 225 t/hour (max. steam generation) high-pressure steam to supply the production facilities at site and to generate electricity in an extraction condensing turbine. An underground bunker was built to store the refuse-derived fuel. All walls and the floor are built of reinforced concrete. Bunker walls and bunker floor are protected against chemical and mechanical wear and also against ingression or leakage of water. The bunker floor is situated below ground level (here on level -3.00 m). The refuse-derived fuel is unloaded into the underground bunker at several dumping stations from the trucks delivering the RDF. The dumping stations are situated significantly above bunker floor (here +6.00 m). It is possible to stack the refuse-derived fuel against the bunker walls in the underground bunker. Thus, the height of the stacks makes it possible to create a large storage volume on a small surface area.

 Wayss & Freytag Ingenieurbau AG was awarded the contract for construction lot 2:

• construction of the bunker in reinforced concrete construction,
• turn-key construction of the control unit building in reinforced concrete construction,
• turn-key construction of the social and administrative building,
• turn-key construction of adjoining buildings (goods lift, control building, building for a weighing machine, workshop),
• construction of ramp and access area,
• foundation of boiler house,
• various foundations for service buildings,
• construction of all roads and outdoor facilities.

The structural works started on April 1, 2008 and were completed by March 31, 2009. To keep these very short construction periods, several construction components were carried out in the slipform method. The following components were carried out in the slipform method:

• RDF bunker in 4 slipform sections,
• goods lift in one slipform section and
• control building in one slipform section.

Between the individual slipform sections the foundations for the boiler house and the control unit building were built. This interdependency required precise sequence planning during work preparation and a precise adherence to these deadlines.