GE Technology to Provide Flexible Power for 104-Megawatt Combined-Cycle Power Plant in Italy
• GE's Aeroderivative Technology Helps Fill the Gap between Base-Load Large Power Plants and Renewable Power Generation with Flexible Power Generation
• Operational Flexibility, Efficiency and Reliability are the Key Reasons Tamarete Energia Selected GE’s Proven Technology
•Project Will Help Balance the Grid Variability Associated with Wind and Solar Power Generation
•GE Teamed up with STC SpA for Seven Big Power Plant Projects in 12 Years
ORTONA, ITALY -- GE’s (NYSE: GE) aeroderivative gas turbine technology has been installed at Tamarete Energia’s new, 104-megawatt combined-cycle plant near Ortona, Italy. The plant will generate enough power for approximately 34,500 Italian homes. GE’s flexible gas turbine technology, which easily helps integrate wind and solar energy into the grid, will allow the new plant to generate high-efficiency and environmentally friendly electrical power, balancing the reduction of contribution from wind and solar generation.
Tamarete Energia celebrated the opening of the plant with a ceremony held at the site today. The plant is located in the province of Chieti in Abruzzo. Tamerete Energia is a special purpose company owned by BKW Italia SpA, HERA SpA, and Odoardo Zecca S.r.l.
“Under the European Union’s 20-20-20 initiative, the use of renewable energy has increased throughout Italy, and wind and solar power has been growing rapidly,” said Patrizio Prunecchi, GE aero products commercial operations leader, EMEA for GE Power Water. “Our flexible, high-efficiency technology can rapidly ramp up when the wind is not blowing or the sun is not shining and efficiently ramp down when they are available. As the need for electricity fluctuates throughout the day, with higher demand in the mornings when consumers are waking up and late in the afternoons when they get home from work, this allows our customers to respond to these fluctuations while enabling them to integrate more renewables across the power grid.”
Under the terms of the approximately $30 million-euro project, GE provided two LM6000-PD aeroderivative gas turbine generator packages and one 8-11 MC9 impulse-type, geared steam turbine-generator to STC SpA (Forli’, Italy). STC SpA is the Italian company selected by Tamerete Energia as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the combined-cycle plant.
“The Tamerete Energia power plant project is the latest in a long series of high-efficiency combined-cycle power plants that GE and STC have collaborated on over the last 12 years in all different industries from paper mills to food and beverage to chemical industries,” said Pietro Marco Stella, president of STC SpA. “We continue to work with GE based on its proven record of providing flexible and highly efficient technology that best meets our customers’ needs.”
GE’s LM6000 aeroderivative technology provides greater flexibility through its fast-start capability (10 minutes from cold iron), daily/multiple startups with no impact on the equipment maintenance cost and through its low turndown level (approximately 25 percent of power plant capacity).
“High operational flexibility, efficiency and reliability are essential to ensure economic success in Italy’s diverse power segment. GE’s technology allows us to experience less wear and tear on our components, a longer equipment lifespan and low maintenance costs because it enables flexible operation,” said Roberto Barbano, CEO of Tamerete Energia. “This type of flexible power generation helps to better meet the needs of the grid with stable, reliable energy.”
GE’s aeroderivative gas engine technology is part of the company’s portfolio of innovative distributed power solutions, designed to give businesses and communities around the world the ability to generate more reliable and efficient power using a variety of fuels in diverse locations on or off the grid. GE’s distributed power portfolio includes Jenbacher and Waukesha gas engines and Clean Cycle waste heat recovery solutions.
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About GE Power & Water
GE Power & Water provides customers with a broad array of power generation, energy delivery and water process technologies to solve their challenges locally. Power & Water works in all areas of the energy industry including renewable resources such as wind and solar, biogas and alternative fuels; and coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy. The business also develops advanced technologies to help solve the world’s most complex challenges related to water availability and quality. Power & Water’s six business units include Distributed Power, Nuclear Energy, Power Generation Services, Renewable Energy, Thermal Products and Water & Process Technologies. Headquartered in Schenectady, N.Y., Power & Water is GE’s largest industrial business.
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