The Amer power plant in Geertruidenberg has been an important production site of RWE for more than 70 years, and over 31 years with Unit 9. The plant supplies sustainable and flexible power, which is needed to balance the Dutch energy demand.
With this, RWE is contributing to a successful energy transition, especially now that the power plant has been running entirely on sustainable biomass since the beginning of 2025.
Electricity and heat
Coal and gas have long been the main fuels for the Amer power plant in Geertruidenberg. The current power plant, unit 9, has been in operation since 1993 and produces electricity and heat. First with coal, which was completely replaced by sustainable biomass as of 2025.
The unit has enough power to produce electricity for about 800,000 households. Heat produced in the same unit is used in the Plukmadesepolder in Drimmelen to heat greenhouses and in Geertruidenberg and neighborhoods of Breda and Tilburg for district heating. Since May 2018, the Amer power plant also has an extensive solar park.
From coal to biomass
A variety of biomass types have been tested and used at the Amer power plant since the 1990s. Back then in both units 8 and 9. At the end of 2020, an entirely new biomass plant was commissioned. This made it possible to run the power plant entirely on biomass.
The biomass arrives in the form of wood pellets (compressed sawdust) and is brought in by barges. To process the wood pellets, the Amer power plant has a special biomass unloading quay where the biomass can be stored in various silos.
On the quay are two ship unloaders which, like vacuum cleaners, suck the pellets out of the hold and transport them to the silos via a conveyor belt. From the silos, chain conveyors transport the pellets to the power plant.
By-products
The combustion process in the boiler produces ash particles that collect at the bottom of the boiler. This is the byproduct bottom ash.
The lighter particles of ash heading toward the chimney are electrostatically trapped and collected so that they do not become airborne. This byproduct is called fly ash. Both bottom ash and fly ash are used as filler in useful applications in the construction industry, among others.
The flue gases from the power plant are further cleaned by removing nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide from them, thus minimising emissions to the air.
The power plant thus produces electricity and heat using biomass fuel, with bottom ash and fly ash as by-products.
Commissioned
Maximum electrical output (nett)
Heat production
BECCUS
RWE has a clear goal: net zero by 2040, with energy you can count on. We are shaping the energy world of tomorrow. An important part of this is the BECCUS project, which stands for Bioenergy Carbon Capture Utilisation & Storage. With this, RWE intends to reuse CO2 of sustainable biogenic origin at the Amer power plant in Geertruidenberg and at the Eemshaven power plant in Eemshaven, and have it stored elsewhere, provided this is technically and economically feasible. Read more about the BECCUS project.
Aquathermal energy plant
RWE and Ennatuurlijk have entered into an agreement to develop a new aquathermal energy plant at the Amer power station site. The facility will use heat extracted from the River Amer and, from an expected start date in 2029, will supply sustainable heat to homes and businesses connected to the district heating network in the Central and Western Brabant region.
Supported by an SDE++ subsidy from the Dutch government, the project will, in terms of installed capacity, become the largest aquathermal energy plant in Europe. The project marks an important step in the further decarbonization of regional heat supply and builds on earlier investments at the Amer power station, including electric boilers and thermal energy storage facilities. This project is part of the system integration solutions associated with our OranjeWind offshore wind farm. More information is available on the Ennatuurlijk website, in Dutch.
Every first Wednesday of the month, the evacuation alarm is tested at Amer Power Station at 17:30.
Some questions and answers