So it’s just a what we call in Germany Blockheizkraftwerk (literally a block heating power station) for Kraft-Wärme-Koppelung (Power heat coupling). They are very often used for district heating and were seen as the way forward for reducing CO2-emissions before the advent of renewables. It’s still a useful concept for biogas plants and trash incineration power stations. It makes sense though to have them more centrally as that increases electrical efficiency.