GE steam turbines to boost capacity of Egyptian power plants

To boost Egypt’s power generation capacity with no extra fuel consumption, GE is providing its advanced D200 steam turbines to upgrade the West Damietta and Assiut power plants to generate an additional 750 MW through combined-cycle operation. This will take the total capacity of the two plants from 1.5 GW to 2.25 GW, and help meet the increasing demand for power in the country.

GE will provide three D200 steam turbines, which will use the waste heat from the gas turbines to generate extra power. West Damietta has four GE 9E gas turbines that generate 500 MW, while the Assiut plant has eight 9E turbines that generate 1 GW. Both plants already contribute to the national grid, to help meet the peak summer demand.

West Damietta and Assiut power plants are part of the deals signed by GE earlier this year to boost power production. At the Egypt Economic Development Conference, GE had announced its support to the ‘Egypt Power Boost Program,’ by helping generate the 2.6 GW of electricity, the amount equivalent to the power needed for approximately 2.5 million Egyptian homes.

Enhancing efficiency and capacity

Dr. Mohammed Shaker, Minister of Electricity of Egypt said the shift from single-cycle to combined-cycle operation at the West Damietta and Assiut power plants is a key part of the company’s strategy to enhance operational efficiency and strengthen generation capacity. “Both power plants already help meet peak summer demand as part of our Power Boost Program and now the planned upgrade will help enable the power plants to be even more efficient, sustainable and productive.”

Mohammed Mohaisen, President & CEO, GE Power Generation Products Middle East and North Africa, said the enhancement of the power plants underlines the focus of the Egyptian Ministry of Electricity to implement energy efficiency measures that add to the power capacity and help meet growing demand for power for household and industrial use. “With the two plants already in operation, we will work with the teams to install the steam turbines for a seamless upgrade.”

GE’s advanced gas turbines already help generate more than 11.68 GW of electricity. The company is also investing in a new US$200 million multimodal manufacturing, engineering, services and training center in Egypt which will focus on power generation, renewables, water, oil & gas, aviation and rail transportation.