Erlangen, Germany, September 22, 2011 — Siemens Energy has handed over the T-Power combined cycle power plant in Belgium to T-Power N.V., in which International Power plc, Siemens Project Ventures GmbH and Tessenderlo Chemie N.V. each hold a 33 percent stake.
The plant started commercial operation already on June 15 of this year. T-Power is a Siemens-designed high-efficiency gas-fired combined cycle power plant, which will produce about 430 MW at more than 58 percent efficiency in strict compliance with the latest environmental regulations.
Thanks to Siemens’ ultra-modern burner technology, nitrogen oxide emissions are below statutory requirements. The new plant also features high online versatility, short startup times and fast load cycling — properties that are becoming more and more important against the background of increasing shares of fluctuating wind power in the grid.
The power plant will supply a part of the power generated for the energy-intensive production processes at the neighboring chemicals plant, with the resting part being fed into the grid. In total, with 430 MW the power plant will be capable of supplying more than 240,000 households in Belgium with ecofriendly electricity
Siemens Energy erected the plant as a turnkey solution and supplied all the major components — an SGT5-4000F gas turbine, an SST5-3000 steam turbine, and a hydrogen-cooled SGen-2000H generator.
All commissioning works were successfully completed according to schedule in mid-2011, with higher capacity and efficiency rates than anticipated. The new plant is slated to meet intermediate and peak load demand. T-Power has also signed a 14-year maintenance agreement with Siemens for the gas turbine.
