Siemens to modernize combined cycle power plant in the UK

Siemens has received an order for a new combined cycle gas turbine at King’s Lynn power station in Norfolk, United Kingdom (UK), owned by British energy and services company Centrica. The gas-fired power plant will consist of one unit in a single-shaft configuration and deliver a total capacity of approximately 380 megawatts (MW) to the grid. The agreement includes the installation and long-term servicing of a gas turbine, the servicing of a generator and a steam turbine, as well as the modernization of the existing instrumentation and control systems.

The scope of supply encompasses the replacement of the existing V94.3 gas turbine with a new SGT5-4000F gas turbine, delivered from the Siemens gas turbine factory in Berlin, Germany. In addition, the existing generator and steam turbine will be refurbished at the Siemens site in Newcastle, UK. Also included in Siemens’ scope of supply are services including the extension of the existing air cooled condenser (ACC) and an update of the existing Distributed Control System (DCS) to the latest SPPA-T3000 Control System. Centrica will refurbish the heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) and parts of the Balance of Plant. The long-term service agreement (LTSA) between Siemens and Centrica is for a period of twelve years and includes spare parts, the performance of scheduled turnkey outages, as well as Power Diagnostics®, part of Siemens’ Digital Services for Energy portfolio.

Siemens built the existing plant back in 1997 but was put into long-term preservation in March 2012 when the site became uneconomic to run. Since then the requirements of the UK electricity market have changed significantly and King’s Lynn needed to be reconfigured in order to continue to play a vital part in the UK’s electricity supply. Siemens and Centrica worked closely together to develop the best fit. This joint effort has paid off as Centrica participated successfully in the UK Capacity Market Auction in December 2016. The King’s Lynn combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant was the only large new-build CCGT that was succesful in the auction. The Capacity Market Auction, run by the GB electricity system operator National Grid, took place in the UK for the third year in a row. Through the auction process, the British government asks power generators to commit to make generating capacity available at times of high demand for the grid.