World’s largest combined cycle power plants completed in record time
In collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Siemens and its consortium partners, Orascom Construction and Elsewedy Electric, announced the completion of the Egypt Megaproject in record time. The parties celebrated the combined cycle commissioning and the start of operations at the Beni Suef, Burullus and New Capital power plants. The stations will add a total of 14.4 gigawatts (GW) of power generation capacity to Egypt’s national grid, enough power to supply up to 40 million people with reliable electricity. With this milestone, Egypt and Siemens have set a new world record for execution of modern, fast-track power projects, delivering 14.4 GW of power in only 27.5 months. A single combined cycle power plant block with a capacity of 1,200 megawatts typically takes approximately 30 months for construction. For the Egypt Megaproject Siemens in parallel built twelve of these blocks in record time and connected them to the grid.
“The record-breaking completion of our Megaproject in Egypt will not only transform the power landscape in Egypt, but will also serve as a blueprint for building up power infrastructure in the Middle East and all over the world,” said Joe Kaeser, President and CEO of Siemens AG. “This Megaproject is also setting the benchmark for trustful and reliable cooperation with our customer and our partners. The leadership of President al Sisi and his team in this project has been remarkable. We look forward to apply this unique performance model also to other countries in their efforts towards reliable, affordable and sustainable power systems.”
According to Dr Mohamed Shaker, the Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, “The completion of the power plants is a significant milestone in the government’s strategy to modernize energy infrastructure in Egypt to drive industrial growth and economic progress,”. “This is also why the plants were built in select locations across the country to serve the growing demand for electricity among households, businesses and industries. This new power infrastructure will serve as the backbone for economic prosperity in Egypt for years to come,” he underlined.
Each of the three power plants are powered by eight SGT5-8000 H-class gas turbines, 4 steam turbines, 12 generators, 8 Siemens heat recovery steam generators, 12 transformers as well as a 500-kilovolt gas-insulated switchgear. To improve the resilience of Egypt’s power grid, Siemens has successfully energized six substations that will transmit electricity generated by the new power plants. The company has also provided training to 600 Egyptian engineers and technicians, who will be responsible for operating and maintaining the plants, helping to expand skills and knowledge of the local workforce.
“Today, we are proud that Siemens technology will generate power at the three combined cycle plants, reaching a total net efficiency of over 61 percent, ensuring the power generated is reliable and benefits millions of Egyptians. Our efficient H class gas turbine technology will also help the country save over USD 1 billion in annual fuel costs through better fuel utilization,” Karim Amin, Global Head of Sales, Power and Gas Division, Siemens AG, added.
