Environment & Energy | Monday 5 January, 2015 10:15 am |

Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) has selected its long-time partner GE (NYSE:GE) for a project that marks Saudi Arabia’s first integration of a solar field with a combined cycle plant and the first introduction of condensate as a gas turbine fuel.

The landmark project, the ‘Green Duba’ Integrated Solar Combined Cycle Plant, will be built in the north-western part of Saudi Arabia, along the Red Sea coast, and has the capacity to generate the equivalent power needed to supply approximately 600,000 homes for a year.

“This part of Saudi Arabia is a developing region with limited grid interconnection, so the additional power generated by the Green Duba project will be tremendously important in supporting growth,” said Eng. Ziyad M. Alshiha, president and CEO of SEC. “We expect the plant to provide cost-efficiencies over its lifecycle, along with the fuel flexibility and solar capabilities needed to support the Kingdom’s fuel conservation and renewable technology initiatives.”

The project is designed to generate up to 550 megawatts (MW) from the combined cycle plant; the solar field will supply steam for an additional 50 MW. The SEC order includes two highly efficient, reliable F-class gas turbines, a 7F.05 and a 7F.03; steam turbine; generators; heat recovery steam generators (HRSG); condenser; boiler feed pumps; Mark VIe distributed control system and a long-term service agreement.

In terms of fuel flexibility, GE has supplied the 7F.05 gas turbine to operate on condensate and the 7F.03 to operate on natural gas, with Arabian Super Light (ASL) crude oil as backup. GE’s F-class gas turbines are the first to offer customers the ability to operate on ASL.

“The contract is another testament to our committed partnership with SEC to further enhance the efficiency and flexibility of its plants. The integration of solar power and the introduction of condensate fuel at the Green Duba project is a true milestone for the Kingdom, and supports the government’s vision to promote energy sector efficiency with a focus on renewables,” said Hisham Albahkali, GE’s President & CEO for Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Recently, the first four 7F.05 gas turbines in the field successfully reached full commercial baseload operation at SEC Power Plant (PP) 12 in Riyadh. By early 2015, all eight units at PP12 will be operating in combined cycle and add nearly 2,000 megawatts.

Today, GE assists in the generation of more than half of the Kingdom’s power supply and has over 500 gas turbines installed in the Kingdom. GE equipment operates in approximately 40 SEC power plants—a partnership that spans over four decades.

With nearly 80 years of experience and 1,000 employees in Saudi Arabia, GE is expanding its energy presence in the Kingdom through knowledge-sharing initiatives and increased investments for technology centers that provide service, repair support and customer training in the power, water and oil and gas sectors.