Siemens Energy is supplying its high efficiency HL-class gas turbine technology to a Greek project for the first time. It will be installed in a new combined cycle power plant in Komotini in the northeast of the country.

With an installed electrical capacity of 877 MW, it will be the world’s most powerful combined cycle power plant in 1×1 configuration. The construction of the new plant is of strategic importance for Greece which will have an increasing demand for power from non-lignite sources as lignite fired units are gradually withdrawn from service. The switch to a gas-fired power plant will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 3.7 million tons per year compared to a coal power plant. It will also reduce the environmental impact and increase the security of supply. Terna SA is building the entire plant for the project company Thermoilektriki Komotinis M.A.E. The company is owned in equal parts by Motor Oil Renewable Energy and GEK Terna. Commissioning of the plant is scheduled for mid-2024.

Karim Amin, executive VP Generation at Siemens Energy, commented “Our technology will play a critical role in Greece’s strategic journey of shifting from coal/lignite power plants to gas-fired power generation. Our HL gas turbines will provide a reliable supply of electricity at efficiency levels above 64 %, resulting in a significant reduction of CO2 emissions – a target Greece is determined to achieve.”

The new power plant will be fired with natural gas and is designed as a multi-shaft plant, with one gas turbine and one steam turbine each driving its own generator. The Siemens Energy scope of supply includes a power island consisting of an SGT5-9000HL gas turbine, an SST5-5000 steam turbine, an SGen5-3000W generator for the gas turbine, an SGen5-1200A generator for the steam turbine, the heat-recovery steam generator, and the SPPA-T3000 control system.