GE Will Supply Turbine and More for New Gas-Fired Plant in Greece
A new 840-MW natural gas-fired power plant in Greece will use equipment from General Electric (GE), with GE also providing services for the facility that is expected to come online in 2026.
GE on March 20 announced the plant in Alexandroupolis will feature a 9HA.02 gas turbine, an STF-D650 steam turbine, and a W88 generator. Additional equipment includes a triple pressure with reheat heat recovery steam generator, and GE’s Mark* VIe Distributed Control System (DCS) software solution.
The 9HA.02 model is a fuel-flexible turbine that can burn a variety of fuels, including a mix of hydrogen and natural gas. GE said the Alexandroupolis plant will the second gas-fired facility in Greece to utilize a 9HA.02 turbine.
Service Contract
GE also said it would supply “a full spectrum of power plant services for 14 years” after the plant comes online, or until 2040 according to the facility’s current construction timeline. DAMCO Energy, part of Greece-based Copelouzos Group, will serve as the engineering, procurement, and construction lead on the project.
The principals in a news release Monday said the electricity from the new plant will increase Greece’s energy supply, and also support the country’s ongoing transition to renewable energy resources by helping balance the intermittency of solar and wind generation.
Alexandroupolis Electricity Production SA will finance, build, own, and operate the new power plant. Public Power Corporation S.A., the largest electric power company in Greece, and DEPA S.A.—also known as the Public Gas Corp. of Greece—will have a 51% and 29% share, respectively, in the capital of Alexandroupolis Electricity Production SA.
Important for Balkan Region
“Alexandroupolis power plant is in the crossroads of the natural gas network of the Balkan region,” said Andreas Diamandopoulos, general manager of DAMCO. “It was crucial for us to select the most advanced technology, such as GE’s 9HA.02 gas turbine, to help secure the lowest cost of conversion from gas to electricity to support the energy transition in Greece. GE’s flexible, efficient, and reliable gas power generation equipment proved to be the best-suited technology to complement renewables’ growth in Greece.”
“We have been working with Copelouzos Group for more than four years to develop a power generation project to support Greece’s commitment towards a reliable and lower-carbon energy future,” said Joseph Anis, president and CEO, Europe, Middle East & Africa, for GE Gas Power. “Adding capacity with new, high-efficiency combined cycle power offers a big potential to substantially reduce carbon emissions in the country, and this project combines GE’s turnkey expertise with GE’s leading combined cycle power plant technology to provide more flexible, sustainable and reliable electricity to the region for years to come.”
—Darrell Proctor is a senior associate editor for POWER (@POWERmagazine).