Independent power producer Mass Global Investment Company has contracted with GE for the supply of steam turbine technology to increase the efficiency and output of its Erbil power plant in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. In operation since late 2008, Erbil plays an important part in meeting the growing power needs of the region.
Under the agreement, GE will supply two steam turbines that will be used to convert the Erbil plant from simple to combined-cycle operation, increasing plant output by 500 MW. The agreement also includes installation services. ENKA Construction & Industry Co, the Turkish engineering, procurement and construction company, has been selected to build the new plant.
“This new agreement builds on our growing relationship with GE … whose proven … advanced energy technology has been employed in our gas power facilities since 2006 said Ahmad Ismail, chairman of Mass Global.
The project will increase thermal efficiency to more than 48 percent, making Erbil among the most efficient power plants in Iraq. The GE C-7 steam turbines will join eight GE Frame 9E gas turbines already operating at the site. The conversion marks Erbil power plant as the first combined-cycle project in the Kurdistan region. There are 20 GE gas turbines installed in Mass Global projects today and last December the two companies also signed a 12-year service agreement.
GE’s C series steam turbines are a non-reheat combined-cycle design first built in the early 1990s and most often applied in combined cycle with E-class gas turbines or industrial applications. This two-pressure level steam turbine design is used in multi-shaft combined-cycle configurations to support from two to four gas turbines. GE will manufacture the steam turbines in Schenectady, N.Y., USA, and will ship them to the project site during the second half of 2013. The combined-cycle plant will start commercial service in the second half of 2014.