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Press Release15 October 2019Gas and PowerHouston
Three expanded power plants deliver additional 1 GW to Bolivia
“The three power plants are important milestones for Bolivia 2025, an ambitious energy project designed to increase power generation capacity to 6000 megawatts (MW) by 2025. This will establish energy independence for Bolivia while also boosting the capacity to export electricity to Bolivia’s neighboring countries,” explained Ramiro Becerra Flores, project director at ENDE Andina. “The process of converting gas into energy is now more efficient, the country has the opportunity to find a use for surplus or residual amounts of gas that will be produced as a result of the integration of the new, much more efficient Siemens technologies.”
With the official inauguration of the Termoeléctrica de Warnes power plant in mid-September, all three power plants in Bolivia are inaugurated. Together, they add more than one gigawatt of electrical power to the Bolivian national grid.
“Siemens has developed a unique solution to support Bolivia’s ongoing efforts to improve access to electricity for its growing population and developing economy,” said Karim Amin, CEO of Power Generation at Siemens Gas and Power. “Every society has its own unique needs. Our diverse energy portfolio can address these various needs for the benefit of societies everywhere.”
The three thermal power plants were already equipped with 13 Siemens gas turbines and the associated generators for operation in simple-cycle mode to provide Bolivia with fast generation of electricity. During the expansion phase that began in 2016, Siemens added 14 SGT-800 gas turbines, 11 SST-400 steam turbines with condensers, 22 steam generators, and the SPPA-T3000 instrumentation and control system to the three power plants. In combined cycle mode, it was possible to increase the plant efficiency from 40 to 51 percent.
The Termoeléctrica del Sur thermal power plant in southern Bolivia, near the border with Argentina was inaugurated on August 8, 2019. The expansion increased the plant’s peak capacity from 160 to 480 MW. The Entre Ríos plant, inaugurated on September 11, 2019, is located in the department of Cochabamba, situated 220 kilometers southeast of La Paz. Thanks to the inclusion of three new blocks, the plant has been able to increase its generation capacity from 120 to 480 MW. The Warnes plant is located in Bolivia’s Santa Cruz department and was inaugurated on September 16, 2019. With the new equipment, the plant’s generation capacity rose from 200 to 520 MW. This expansion of its energy network will help Bolivia continue with its energy development plan and help the country meet its goal of becoming the energy heart of South America.
Mastering logistical challenges
From May 2017 to August 2018, the power plant equipment for the expansion phase was shipped to Bolivia from three different continents. In a global effort that covered thousands of miles, the equipment arrived in Bolivia from Sweden, China, Germany, Italy, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Brazil. The project faced some special challenges in the Andes Mountains. Up to 400 heavy load transports crossed the Andes to bring equipment to the three power plant construction sites. The trucks covered a distance of 1,800 kilometers on steep and sometimes muddy roads, traversed as many as 180 bridges and tunnels, and overcame an elevation difference of 4,680 meters above sea level. The deliveries included what logistician experts describe as 83 “heavy lifts” – meaning single loads of 50 tons or more. Forty to fifty out of 180 bridges along the original route had to be reinforced or bypassed due to structural concerns. “I’ve worked for Siemens for more than a decade, and I have never had such a huge transport, nothing even comparable,” says Marcus Koerber, Siemens Project Manager of Material Logistics.
Investing in the country
Siemens is building a new Service and Training Center in Warnes, where Bolivian technicians will be trained to maintain, monitor, and repair power plant turbines and other components. “The center is designed to provide our traditional and digital services to energy customers in Bolivia and South America. It will feature digital solutions with our remote monitoring and diagnostics technologies, data analytics, as well as specialized classrooms and hands-on training sessions, parts supply, and engineering and project management,” said John Prado, CEO Siemens Bolivia. “Moreover, it will offer job opportunities for more than 100 people.”
To view the virtual press tour to Bolivia, please see
www.bit.ly/2nDkxQU
For further information on Energizing Bolivia, please see
www.siemens.com/press/energizing-bolivia
www.siemens.com/energizing-bolivia
For further information on Siemens’ energy concepts for societies, please see
www.siemens.com/e4g
www.bit.ly/2nDkxQU
For further information on Energizing Bolivia, please see
www.siemens.com/press/energizing-bolivia
www.siemens.com/energizing-bolivia
For further information on Siemens’ energy concepts for societies, please see
www.siemens.com/e4g
For this press release
Siemens Gas and Power (GP) is a global pacesetter in energy, helping customers to meet the evolving demands of today’s industries and societies. GP comprises broad competencies across the entire energy value chain and offers a uniquely comprehensive portfolio for utilities, independent power producers, transmission system operators, the oil and gas industry and other energy intensive industries. Products, solutions, systems and services address the extraction, processing and the transport of oil and gas as well as power and heat generation in central and distributed thermal power plants, power transmission and grid stability, as well as energy transition technologies including storage. With global headquarters in Houston in the U.S. and more than 64,000 employees in over 80 countries, Siemens Gas and Power has a presence across the globe and is a leading innovator for the energy systems of today and tomorrow, as it has been for more than 150 years.
Siemens AG
(Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence,
innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 170 years. The company is active
around the globe, focusing on the areas of electrification, automation and digitalization. One of the
largest producers of energy-efficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is a leading supplier of
efficient power generation and power transmission solutions and a pioneer in infrastructure solutions
as well as automation, drive and software solutions for industry. With its publicly listed subsidiary
Siemens Healthineers AG, the company is also a leading provider of medical imaging equipment – such as
computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging systems – and a leader in laboratory diagnostics as
well as clinical IT. In fiscal 2018, which ended on September 30, 2018, Siemens generated revenue of
€83.0 billion and net income of €6.1 billion. At the end of September 2018, the company had around
379,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available on the Internet at
www.siemens.com
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Contact
Christina Hümmer
Gas and Power
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Germany
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Germany
+49 (9131) 17-45722