Kenitra power plant is being expanded to help Morocco's state-owned Office National de l’Electricité (ONE) meet increasing demand to support the country’s strong economic and industrial growth.
GE and its consortium partner, Cegelec SAS of France, have been awarded a contract totaling more than €200 million for the project, which will feature three GE Frame 9E gas turbines that offer the flexibility to burn heavy fuel oil, with distillate as a backup.
The new 300 MW plant will be located in the harbor of Kenitra, which is 40 km north of Rabat, the capital city of Morocco. The project is part of the government’s plan to develop and modernise the nation’s harbours, to help support economic growth.
“Morocco’s electricity consumption is increasing by 6-8% a year,” said Fouad El Kaouri, Director for realisation of engineering and production projects of ONE. “In addition to helping to meet this demand, the new power plant is a key to the expansion and modernisation of the port of Kenitra, part of the overall plan to upgrade six strategic harbours throughout the country. The expansion of the Kenitra harbor will support the exportation of products from Gharb, a key agricultural region of Morocco.”
ONE selected three similar machines three years ago for the Mohammedia project, which also uses heavy fuel oil. The 9E is the workhorse of GE's 50-Hertz fleet, with more than 450 units installed and a fleet accumulation of over 22 million hours of utility and industrial service worldwide. The Kenitra gas turbines will be produced at GE Energy’s Belfort facilities in France.
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