Siemens powers 758MW combined cycle plant in Texas

Siemens Energy Inc. and Pannda Power Funds recently dedicated the Panda Temple Power Project in Temple, Texas. Siemens Energy supplied the natural-gas-fired Combined Cycle Power Plant (CCPP) in consortium with its partner, Bechtel. 

The multi-shaft plant, the first Flex-Plant in commercial operation in Texas, is a Siemens Flex-Plant configuration, with a gross installed electrical capacity of 758 MW.

Flex-Plant CCPPs are said to offer high efficiency and operational flexibility, providing the right solution for any duty service. Innovative design features are incorporated to enable fast start, and fast ramping up and down across a large operating window from low plant turn-down to high plant output with Carbon Monoxide (CO) emissions less than 10 parts-per-million (ppm), and Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions less than 2.0 ppm. The generating station is expected to supply power to approximately 750,000 homes in the Central and North Texas regions.

Thermodynamic cycle design

The natural-gas-fired Panda Temple Flex-Plant plant is located at the South Temple Industrial Park in Temple, Texas. Siemens provided the thermodynamic cycle design and Power Island engineering. Siemens also delivered two SGT6-5000F gas turbines, one SST6-5000 steam turbine, two SGen6-1000A generators, one SGen6-2000H generator, the SPPA-T3000 instrumentation and control system as well as two Benson heavy duct-fired heat recovery steam generators (manufactured by NEM USA Corp) and other key cycle components.

A long-term service agreement is also said to be in place for the main generation components. Bechtel was responsible for the balance of the plant engineering, overall plant construction, procurement, and led the commissioning of the facility. The gas turbines for this project are equipped with Shaping Power, a feature which is expected to enable higher power output on days with higher temperature.

Siemens' Flex-Plant technology balances intermittent renewable resources and provides low cost electricity, said Martin Tartibi, Senior Executive Vice President at Siemens Energy Solutions Americas. “The Panda Temple plant is the third Flex-Plant in commercial operation in the United States and it will be considered one of the cleanest fossil-fueled plants in the nation.”

Todd Carter, Senior Partner and President of Panda Power Funds said, "Temple was our very first project working with Siemens, and we made the right choice." The gas turbines, steam turbines and generators were manufactured at the Siemens North American manufacturing hub in Charlotte, North Carolina.