GE wins $750M Indian gas turbine order

GE will supply $750 million worth of equipment and services for a 2,400-megawatt expansion of the Samalkot power plant.

Reliance Power Ltd. of India selected GE’s flexible, efficient power generation technology for this project. This will represent the largest gas turbine combined-cycle project in India’s history and will help the country meet its continuing demand for reliable electricity to support its rapidly growing economy.
GE will supply six Frame 9FA gas turbines, three D-11 steam turbines, training and long-term services for the project. GE’s 9FA combined-cycle technology is proven in applications worldwide. In a combined-cycle configuration, exhaust gas from a gas turbine-generator is converted to steam, which is used to drive a steam turbine-generator, enabling the plant to produce additional power without an increase in fuel consumption. The new plant is expected to enter simple-cycle service in the first half of 2012 and combined-cycle in the second half of that year.

“We are delighted to begin this strategic long-term partnership with a world leader like GE,” said J .P. Chalsani, CEO, Reliance Power. “With the combination of resources and knowledge of GE and Reliance Power, we are confident of creating a new record for project execution and are hopeful of commissioning the project on a super fast-track basis, substantially adding to capacity addition in the 11th plan.”

India is the sixth largest energy consumer in the world. The country’s demand for natural gas has been growing at a rate of 6.5 percent for the last 10 years, and that pace is expected to continue or even to increase.

“Our flexible advanced, gas-fired combined-cycle technology will enable Reliance Power to produce large amounts of electricity and fuel India’s growing economy,” said Paul Browning, vice president—thermal products for GE Power & Water. “We are committed to supplying technology that can help India produce the energy it needs to sustain its dynamic economic growth and help support continued improvements for its citizens.”

The primary fuel for the 9FA combined-cycle blocks at the Samalkot plant expansion in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India will be natural gas, which is one of the cleaner fossil fuels used for power generation.
In addition to supplying equipment, GE also has signed a 15-year contractual service agreement for the Samalkot project. GE currently is managing CSAs for customers at more than 700 sites covering 2,000 turbines worldwide. Benefits to customers may include performance guarantees, predictable maintenance costs and access to GE’s technology and global experience.

Reliance Power is India’s largest integrated private sector power utility company. The company is involved with generation, transmission, distribution and trading of power and distributes over 5,000 megawatts of power.
The 9FA is part of GE’s family of Frame F turbines. More than 1,000 GE F-technology gas turbines have been installed worldwide and have compiled more than 32 million operating hours. GE’s F-class turbines offer flexible fuel handing that accommodates a wide range of fuels including natural gas, distillate oil, high hydrogen syngas and naphtha.