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GE Gas Turbine Technology to Power enercity* District Heating Plant Expansion
GE Energy and enercity*, one of the largest municipal utilities in Germany, announced during the PowerGEN in Cologne last week the selection of GE’s gas turbine technology to power the expansion of the electricity and district heating supply for the city of Hannover.
GE Energy will supply enercity with a Frame 6FA gas turbine generator and auxiliary equipment that, when completed, will more than double the plant capacity while supporting the country’s aggressive emission production targets. GE Energy also will provide enercity with installation services and ongoing turbine services over the next 20 years.
“GE Energy demonstrated a capability to work closely with us to deliver an integrated solution for this important extension project. The facility will deliver heating and electricity to around 150,000 homes, with an expected reduction of 200,000 tons of CO2 per year,” said Christoph Kollenda, head of power generation at enercity.
“This plant expansion supports the German government’s initiative to add more combined heat and power projects, improve fuel efficiency, reduce fuel consumption and reduce carbon emissions,” said Ricardo Cordoba, president of GE Energy Western Europe and Northern Africa. “We’re very pleased that our technology was selected for this important project.”
While this marks GE Energy’s first contract with enercity, GE’s Frame 6FA technology has been selected for other district heating projects in Germany, Eastern Europe and Asia. To date, more than 100 Frame 6FA gas turbines have been committed or installed for projects worldwide, nearly half of them in Europe.
The 77-megawatt 6FA gas turbine is the mid-sized member of GE’s F-technology gas turbine family, which has achieved more than 26 million hours of operating experience while continuing to achieve the highest availability and reliability for gas turbines in this class. The 6FA output range, high exhaust energy, full packaging and robust design make this machine well suited for a variety of decentralized applications, including district heating and industrial cogeneration the simultaneous production of electricity and useful heat from the same fuel or energy source.
In addition to gas turbine cogeneration, GE Energy offers a broad portfolio of technology solutions, including gas engines, solar and wind, to help Germany meet its emissions targets. In July of 2008, the German government enacted a new law aimed at reducing carbon emissions by doubling the amount of power from renewable energy sources and changing methods for generating electricity. The law is the first of two that are part of the government’s overall goal to reduce Germany’s carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent by 2020 compared with 1990 levels.
The new GE equipment for the enercity plant expansion is expected to enter commercial service by the end of 2010.
* enercity is a registered trademark of Stadtwerke Hannover AG.
About GE Energy
GE Energy (www.ge.com/energy) is one of the world’s leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technologies, with 2008 revenue of $29.3 billion. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Energy works in all areas of the energy industry including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy; renewable resources such as water, wind, solar and biogas; and other alternative fuels. Numerous GE Energy products are certified under ecomagination, GE’s corporate-wide initiative to aggressively bring to market new technologies that will help customers meet pressing environmental challenges.
About GE
GE is a diversified global infrastructure, finance and media company that is built to meet essential world needs. From energy, water, transportation and health to access to money and information, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company’s Web site at https://www.ge.com. GE is Imagination at Work.