Panamanian combined cycle plant

GE has secured a combined cycle power plant equipment order for Generadora Gatún in Panama. The natural gas-fired plant is expected to have an output of 670 MW. Owned and operated by Consortium Group Energy Gas Panama, the plant will be built in Telfers Island, near the port of Colón, next to the Panama Canal. This plant will help in the diversification of Panama’s energy mix, which currently relies heavily on hydroelectric power generation.

The use of renewable energy sources is expanding in Panama, but the grid infrastructure still requires efficient and flexible gas turbine technology to support renewables and improve the reliability and stability of the country’s electrical system.

Generadora Gatún will be powered by two GE 7F.05 gas turbines with A63 generators, two triple pressure reheat Heat Recovery Steam Generators (HRSG), and one GE STF-D600 steam turbine with a A63 steam generator. GE will also provide the Mark* VIe control system, GE Digital cybersecurity solutions, remote monitoring diagnostic solutions and a 20-year service agreement covering inspections, tests, repair services, and parts for outages.

The plant will use natural gas provided by AES’s LNG storage (180,000 cubic meter) and regasification facility built for Panama and Central America in 2018. This terminal was the first to provide LNG in the country and has provided natural gas to support the growth of the power, industrial and the transportation sector in the country.