Siemens, Bechtel win turnkey order for 778 MW gas-fired plant

Siemens, in consortium with Bechtel, has recently been awarded the order for a turnkey supply of Panda Power Funds' Stonewall Energy Project in Leesburg, Virginia. This is the sixth order awarded to Siemens by Panda Power Funds, following the power projects Temple I and Temple II, Sherman, Liberty and Patriot. The natural-gas-fired Leesburg combined cycle power plant (CCPP) will have a gross installed electrical capacity of 778 MW. Commissioning of the plant is scheduled for spring 2017.

The generating station will use reclaimed municipal wastewater from the Town of Leesburg to cool the plant, conserving the Commonwealth's natural supply of drinking water. Further, the facility will be built along existing transmission lines, eliminating the need for additional power lines that would otherwise be required to import power from outside of Loudoun County.

Equipment for the power island

For the Panda Stonewall CCPP, Siemens has agreed to deliver the power island equipment, including two SGT6-5000F gas turbines, one SST6-5000 steam turbine with an SCon-4000 condenser, two SGen6-1000A generators, one SGen6-2000H generator and two NEM duct-fired heat recovery steam generators along with the complete electrical system and SPPA-T3000 instrumentation and control system.

The gas turbines, steam turbines and generators will be manufactured in the Siemens factory in Charlotte, North Carolina, which is the main production facility for Siemens 60 Hz power generation. Bechtel will be responsible for the engineering and procurement for the balance of the plant, and the installation, construction and commissioning of the facility.

The finance package

To secure funds for the project, a finance package utilizing senior debt, mezzanine debt and equity has been obtained to cover the total project costs. In support of this package, the Financial Services Division of Siemens is also making a $75 million equity investment.

In 2012, Siemens received the first two orders from Panda Power Funds for the turnkey supply of the Panda Temple Power Project in Temple I, Texas as well as the Panda Sherman Power Project in Sherman, Texas, also in consortium with Bechtel. In 2013, three more orders followed – the turnkey supply in consortium with Bechtel of Panda Temple II, two integrated power islands with H-class technology for the Liberty CCPP, and for the Patriot CCPP, both located in Pennsylvania.