In many areas of the world, existing power infrastructure is stretched to the limit by growing demand for electricity. Reliable power supply systems are a major enabler of economic development, yet needs are growing at a pace faster than the ability to erect conventional power plants. The task at hand in these regions is to deploy efficient mobile power generating capacity quickly to fuel economic development. In some cases the need is temporary, and after some time the mobile power plant might be relocated to a different location to perform a similar duty.
Siemens has now specially developed its SGT-A45 TR gas turbine for this rapidly growing market – a new aero-derivative gas turbine integrated into a mobile unit that delivers an electrical output of up to 44 megawatts, can be installed and commissioned in less than two weeks and begin generating electricity immediately. This light-weight gas turbine offers outstanding power density, high fuel efficiency and good operational flexibility, making it an ideal choice for customers who urgently need power and regions with less developed infrastructures.
Demonstrating the company's commitment to supporting Iraq's power sector, Siemens has expanded an existing service agreement with KAR Group in Iraq to provide comprehensive operations and maintenance (O&M) for two newly added SSC5-2000E power plant units at the Khormala plant in the Kurdistan region.The 930-megawatt (MW) natural gas-fired power plant meets nearly 30 percent of the power demand targeted by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), supplying more than four million Iraqi people with reliable electricity. The extension of the service agreement is set to improve operational flexibility, availability, and performance of gas turbines for the next 15 years.The agreement between Siemens and KAR Group aligns with Iraqi energy production goals. According to the Mena Power Report 2017, the current power demand in Iraq stands at 21GW and is growing faster than supply. The Kurdistan Regional Government plans to increase capacity by building new power plants and increasing the efficiency of existing facilities."With more than 20 years of experience in O&M of power plants, we currently manage approximately 2,800 MW across the Middle East and North Africa region and over 16,000 MW globally," said Gianluigi Di Giovanni, Senior Executive Vice President of Siemens Power Generation Services in the Middle East. "Our global resources and fleet expertise enable us to provide complete plant services and management. The plant is truly a landmark project, supporting the development goals of the Kurdistan region. That's why we are proud to expand our collaboration with KAR Group to deliver reliable and stable electricity supply to people's homes."The Khormala multi-year agreement with Siemens covers the operation and maintenance of six SGT5-2000E gas turbines, six SGen5-100A generators along with the associated auxiliary and ancillary systems. It also includes the implementation of Siemens Power Diagnostics®, which is part of the company's "Digital Services for Energy" portfolio, to improve asset visibility, reliability and availability.Siemens data-driven services enable valuable data from different assets to be analyzed. From there, data is transformed into actionable insights—such as diagnostics, troubleshooting and condition forecasting—that can help improve plant reliability and reduce downtime. In addition, the data processed by Siemens Power Diagnostics® can help balance maintenance costs, improve inspection intervals and provide invaluable insights into operational risks.Siemens has managed the operation and maintenance of Khormala since 2013 under a multi-year services agreement. Currently, the company has more than 40 personnel on-site managing the power plant on behalf of KAR Group.
Building on its commitment to innovative power plant solutions, Siemens has been awarded a contract from Colbún S.A. to upgrade the Central Termoeléctrica Nehuenco-I plant with Siemens' Power Plant Automation T3000 Cue (SPPA-T3000) system. The 368-megawatt (MW) combined cycle power plant is located in Quillota, Valparaíso Region, in Chile and provides electricity to approximately 350,000 homes in the region.
Siemens has won a significant order from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) in India to overhaul 18 units of RT48S & RT56 power turbines of Siemens fleet of aeroderivative gas turbines driven by Industrial AVON & Industrial RB211 gas generators along with installation and commissioning services. The turbines are operating at Mumbai High Asset and Neelam & Heera Asset of ONGC in Mumbai.
The foundation stone of the future converter station was laid on the morning of February 23rd in Folkestone by Jesse Norman, Minister for Industry and Energy signalling the start of the construction work for high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) project ElecLink. Siemens has been awarded an order to supply a link between the French and British power grids by customer ElecLink Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Groupe Eurotunnel SE. The ElecLink high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) link will enhance power supply reliability in both countries and promote the integration of renewable energy sources into the power grid. ElecLink, when complete, will supply enough electricity to power more than 1.65 million typical households per year. The HVDC link between France and Great Britain has been designated as one of the European Commission's projects of common interest to help create an integrated European Union energy market.
The wind service operation vessel (SOV) for the Dutch Gemini project has been christened "Windea la cour" today in Hamburg. The vessel is to set sail to start operations at the Gemini offshore wind power plant this summer. This is the third Siemens-chartered SOV which is supporting Siemens and its offshore service operations. Since June 2015, 'Esvagt Faraday' is supporting service operations at the Butendiek offshore wind power plant in North Sea and 'Esvagt Froude' is utilized for service at the EnBW Baltic II wind farm in the Baltic Sea. A fourth SOV will be utilized for service operations by Siemens at the Sandbank and Dan Tysk wind projects. SOVs are part of innovative approaches in the sector of service for offshore wind power of Siemens anc can make a vital contribution in the future to further reducing the costs for electricity generated by offshore wind farms.
The "Fortuna" combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant at the Lausward location in the port of Düsseldorf was successfully handed over to the customer and operator, the Stadtwerke Düsseldorf public utility company, on January 22, 2016. The power plant has broken three world records: in the acceptance test a maximum electrical net output of 603.8 megawatts (MW) was achieved and the net energy conversion efficiency was around 61.5 percent. In addition, "Fortuna" can also deliver up to around 300 MW for the district heating system of the city of Düsseldorf – a further international peak value for a power plant equipped with only one gas and steam turbine. This increases the overall efficiency of natural gas as a fuel to 85 percent. The heart of the "Fortuna" CCGT power plant is the extremely powerful SGT5-8000H gas turbine from Siemens. Highly efficient and flexible CCGT power plants ideally complement renewable energy sources such as the wind and the sun, which are subject to fluctuations in their power outputs.
The Dresser-Rand business, part of Siemens Power and Gas, has commissioned its first micro-scale natural gas liquefaction system at the Ten Man liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Pennsylvania, U.S. The modular, portable LNGo technology enables distributed production of LNG and can be installed in a short period of time to meet local demand for LNG. This cost-effective solution, developed by the Dresser-Rand business, allows the operator, Frontier Natural Resources, to monetize stranded gas assets at Tenaska Resources LLC's Mainesburg field, located in the Marcellus shale play. Frontier Natural Resources is an independent natural gas producer focused on developing conventional and unconventional resources.
The scope of supply included a standardized LNGo solution consisting of four different modules, each handling one step of the liquefaction process. The whole LNGo system can be transported on eight trucks. It is deployed directly at the gas field and has a footprint of approximately 508 square meters, roughly the size of a basketball court. The Ten Man facility commenced production just four months from contract signing, and has produced approximately half a million liters of LNG in the first 20 days.
"This project demonstrates our unique capabilities to deliver innovative solutions for oil and gas applications that help our clients maximize the value of their assets," said Michael Walhof, sales director Distributed LNG Solutions for the Dresser-Rand business. "We are proud to provide Frontier Natural Resources with a reliable, robust solution to liquefy natural gas and cost-effectively move it to market."
The LNGo technology makes it possible to monetize stranded gas deposits due to its relatively low capital and operating costs. The micro-scale LNGo solution can be deployed in rough terrain or remote regions, eliminating the need to establish an expensive gas pipeline infrastructure or arrange for long-distance trucking of LNG from centralized plants to point of use. It can function as a decentralized solution where the requisite pipeline infrastructure is lacking, or as an onsite transformation solution to reduce or eliminate flaring of petroleum gas at, for example, oil rigs or producing gas fields.
The discovery of the dynamo-electric principle has brought about greater changes to the way our society lives than practically any other scientific breakthrough. By inventing the dynamo machine, not only did Werner von Siemens help bring about the advent of electrical machinery, he was also instrumental in accelerating and facilitating industrial processes. Seen from the perspective of society, this completely changed accepted concepts of time and mobility.
In May 2014 Siemens, together with the public utilities of Mainz, Linde and the RheinMain University of Applied Sciences, has laid the foundation stone for a new type of energy storage system. Now, time has come: By pressing a symbolic button, the Chairman of the Board of Linde Group, Dr. Wolfgang Büchele, Siemens board member Professor Siegfried Russwurm, two board members of Stadtwerke Mainz AG, Detlev Höhne and Dr. Tobias Brosze, and Professor Dr. Detlev Reymann, President of RheinMain University, officially launched a hydrogen production plant at the Energiepark Mainz on July 2, 2015. With the support of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology as part of the Energy Storage Funding Initiative the 17-million-project could be realized. The system, equipped with an electrolyzer from Siemens, will convert surplus electricity from wind farms to hydrogen from now on. In this way, it will be possible to store electricity from renewable sources over longer periods of time. With a peak rating of up to 6 megawatts the plant is the largest of its kind in the world.
The principle of electrolysis has been tried and tested for decades. What is special about the Mainz system is that it involves highly dynamic PEM high-pressure electrolysis which is particularly suitable for high current density and can react within milliseconds to sharp increases in power generation from wind and solar sources. In this electrolyzer a proton exchange membrane (PEM) separates the two electrodes at which oxygen and hydrogen are formed. On the front and back of the membrane are precious-metal electrodes that are connected to the positive and negative poles of the voltage source. This is where the water is split. The system in Mainz will thus have a capacity relevant for bottlenecks in the grid and small wind farms.