Siemens gets tech order for Vietnamese LNG-fueled power-plant switch

German engineering giant Siemens has snapped up a deal to provide the equipment to upgrade Hiep Phuoc Power’s Hiep Phuoc 1 steam power plant in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to an LNG-fueled combined cycle power plant.

This project will increase the plant’s electrical capacity by roughly 780 megawatts (MW) to approximately 1,200 MW.

The modernized plant will be fired with regasified liquefied natural gas (LNG) instead of the oil that has been used to date, Siemens said in its statement.

By changing the fuel, deploying F-class gas turbines from Siemens, and using the waste heat from the gas turbines to produce electricity, the CO2 emissions can be cut almost in half for each kilowatt-hour produced on-site.

The scope of supply from Siemens includes three SGT5-4000F gas turbines, three generators, three heat recovery steam generators, related electrical equipment and the SPPA-T3000 control system.

Recommissioning of the upgraded plant is scheduled for the second half of 2022.

To meet the current electricity demand in Vietnam, Hiep Phuoc Power will be able to provide around 520 MW to the grid by mid-2021 through open cycle operation.