GE Gas Turbines Selected for Myanmar Power Project

GE aeroderivative gas turbine technology has been selected for one of the first projects in Myanmar since the U.S. government recently lifted sanctions on U.S. investment in the country.

A fast-track project, the new natural gas-fired power plant facility will enter commercial service no later than the second quarter of 2013 and will produce about 100 megawatts to help meet Myanmar’s rapidly growing power requirements.

The project announced further expands GE’s role in helping Myanmar develop its infrastructure to support a growing society.

GE will supply two LM6000-PC Sprint aeroderivative gas turbine-generators and technical advisory services for the plant, located in Alhone Township, Yangon City, Myanmar. Independent power producer TOYO Thai Power Corp. in Singapore (TTPSG) is the owner/operator of the plant and will sell the power to Myanmar’s Ministry of Electric Power.

“Myanmar has abundant energy resources, most notably hydropower and natural gas, which can be tapped for power generation and oil and gas exploration,” said Hironobu Iriya, president & CEO of TTPSG. “Due to the availability of natural gas, we expect that gas-fired combined-cycle projects will play an increasingly important role in increasing Myanmar’s power supply to support the country’s urgent need for more power.”

Myanmar is planning to add 450 megawatts of gas-based capacity as part of an initiative to double the country’s installed electricity capacity by 2015. Currently, more than 20 percent of the country’s installed capacity is natural gas-based power generation.

“Gas-fired combined-cycle power plants can be delivered and installed to meet tight project schedules making this technology an excellent fit for addressing Myanmar’s immediate electricity requirements,” said Darryl Wilson, president and CEO—aeroderivative gas turbines for GE Power & Water. “In addition, the reliability and overall performance of these plants have been proven in thousands of applications worldwide.”

GE’s portfolio of innovative distributed power solutions gives businesses and communities around the world the ability to generate reliable and efficient power using a variety of fuels anywhere, whether on or off the grid. GE’s distributed power solutions gives customers of all types—including industrial businesses, developing communities, government agencies managing disaster relief and other emergency power situations—the ability to generate reliable, sustainable power whenever and wherever it is needed. GE’s distributed power portfolio includes GE aeroderivative gas turbines, Jenbacher and Waukesha gas engines and Clean Cycle waste heat recovery solutions.

GE’s LM6000-PC Sprint aeroderivative gas turbines operate at high efficiency, feature superior fuel consumption and flexibility and enable lower emissions and water usage compared to other units in their class. The technology is qualified under ecomagination, GE’s commitment to provide innovative solutions that maximize resources, drive economic performance and help make the world work better.

The LM6000 offers reliability of greater than 99 percent and availability of more than 97 percent, along with a high level of operating flexibility and proven dry low nitrous oxide (NOx) emissions technology that guarantees NOx emissions as low as 50 ppm at 15 percent Oxygen. The machine’s high efficiency enables lower fuel consumption per unit of power output than competitive technologies, yielding fuel cost savings and carbon dioxide reductions for turbine operators.

The two LM6000-PC Sprint aeroderivative gas turbines for the TTPSG project will be equipped with modified nozzles to accommodate the medium BTU gas that will be the fuel for the plant. The gas turbines will be manufactured at GE facilities in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the gas turbine-generator sets will be packaged at GE’s plant in Hungary.

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LNG World News Staff, December 12, 2012; Image: GE