On 15 July GDF Suez inaugurated its new 405 MW combine cycle gas turbine power plant on the Dunamenti site, in Százhalombatta, Hungary. Operator Dunamenti Eromu Zrt upgraded the block from 215 MW in a EUR 200 million brownfield investment project.
The investment increases Dunamenti power plant’s capacity to 1930 MW gross, representing close to 20% of the country’s total installed capacity. GDF Suez is the majority owner of Dunamenti.
"Since it applies the latest technology available, this plant will at the same time reduce the environmental footprint, especially the CO2 emissions, and allow to adapt to the volatile market conditions," the company said in a statement.
The project, launched in 2009, is part of an extensive modernisation programme for Dunamenti. The new plant has been fitted with a 'high-efficiency dual gas and fuel turbine and a new boiler which increase the generation efficiency to over than 57% from the current 36%'. Simultaneously with the upgrade GDF SUEZ is dismantling the obsolete units. Major Hungarian and international companies were involved in the project. All in all, more than 1000 subcontractors worked on the construction site.
"In the first half of the National Energy Strategy plan, besides the positive impacts of building energy efficiency programmes, we also have to face an increasing natural gas demand. The modernisation and the gradual replacement of Hungarian out-dated and low efficiency power plant units is essential. So the investment of GDF SUEZ at Százhalombatta not only answers the government’s intentions, but also fulfils the strategic goals," said János Bencsik, the State Secretary of Climate and Energy of the Ministry of National Development, at the opening ceremony.
The project was financed entirely by Dunamenti's own resources, without bank loans or grants, said Dunamenti Chairman Péter Csiba. Dunamenti currently has other smaller CCGT units with combined capacity of 446 MW, and five older gas-fired steam turbine units of 215 MW each. Of these five, Dunamenti plans to repower at least one, while the rest may be closed down as their licences expire in the coming years.
Dunamenti accounted for 7% of all electricity generated in Hungary last year, producing 2.6 terawatt-hours.
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