Keadby to host first 50 Hz Siemens HL

Siemens and SSE have announced they will collaborate to build the first 50 Hz power plant to use Siemens’ new HL gas turbine technology. Siemens will supply the 840 MW combined cycle plant, Keadby 2, in Lincolnshire, UK, on a full turnkey basis.

SSE will invest £350 million in the new plant, which will be capable of 63% efficiency. Also included in the Siemens scope is a 15-year long-term service contract, with Siemens deploying “advanced digital service solutions”, including remote monitoring and diagnostics, to help maintain the availability, reliability and optimal performance of the power plant.

Construction at the site will begin this summer to deliver what will be the second SSE combined cycle power station located at Keadby. The decision to go ahead with Keadby 2 was taken without SSE securing a capacity contract in the 2018 capacity auction, testament “to the company’s commitment to the project and trust in the technology Siemens can deliver.” Commercial operation of Keadby 2 is scheduled for 2022 as coal power plant closures come into effect. It will provide “flexible large-scale power generation to the UK grid.”

In June 2017, Siemens announced it was going to validate HL technology for 60 Hz market at Duke Energy’s Lincoln County site, North Carolina, USA.

Siemens says the HL represents “an evolutionary step derived from its proven H-class technology”, combining “new but already tested technologies and design features with the best of past experience”, constituting “a technology carrier to the next level of efficiency and performance.” 

Siemens to help China develop its own heavy duty gas turbine technology

Siemens and State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) of China have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to further confirm their intention to collaborate on heavy duty gas turbines. Joe Kaeser, president and CEO of Siemens, and Qian Zhimin, chairman of SPIC, signed the MoU in Berlin in the presence of German federal chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese premier Li Keqiang during his official visit to Germany in July.

The MoU defines the scope and principles of co-operation between the two companies. Under the MoU, Siemens intends to support SPIC in the carrying out of research and development and to provide training and technical consultancy for SPIC. The co-operation “leverages Siemens technology leadership in support of China’s goal to independently develop and build its own heavy duty gas turbine” and MoU “will expedite finalisation of a technology co-operation agreement in the
near future.”

SPIC-chairman Qian Zhimin said: “SPIC is actively developing and implementing the China heavy duty gas turbine programme. The collaboration with Siemens and other multinational gas turbine companies will accelerate the progress of the programme.”

China is one of the world’s most important potential markets for large gas turbines, but does not have an indigenous technology and is expected to increase its investment substantially in the coming years.