Mitsubishi Power, a power solutions brand of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), announced the start of operations at the Rades C combined cycle power plant in Tunisia, owned by the Société Tunisienne de l’Electricité et du Gaz (STEG).
The high-efficiency 450 MW plant was developed by a Mitsubishi Power-led consortium with consortium partner Sumitomo Corporation to expand power generating capacity in Tunisia and achieve a stable supply of electricity, to help accelerate the sustainable economic development of the country.
Located about 10 km east of the Tunisian capital, Rades C will provide approximately 10% of the country’s current installed capacity and become the highest efficiency plant in the country.
During the meeting with consortium members on 26 August 2022, STEG CEO Mr. Hichem Anene said: “Electricity is a cornerstone of economic development, and the Rades C power plant will play a key role in accelerating Tunisia’s growth for decades to come. We want to thank Mitsubishi Power and all consortium partners for this landmark project that will help us meet our energy demand today with reliable, clean and efficient power across the country, and aiming to facilitate our energy transition with industry-leading solutions and decarbonization technologies in Japan such as hydrogen, carbon capture and energy storage. We look forward to growing our partnership with Mitsubishi Power to support us in charting Tunisia’s path to a sustainable and decarbonized energy future.”
The Rades C state-of-the art power plant has been designed to meet Tunisia’s environmental goals and contribute significantly to a reduction of the CO2 gases emitted, with hydrogen ready gas turbine technology that can be easily converted to H2 firing with minimal modifications.
Hideshi Kawamoto, President and CEO, Mitsubishi Power Ltd. and Senior Fellow, Deputy Head of Energy Transition & Power Headquarters of Energy Systems, MHI, commented on the start of commercial operation: “We are proud to be here with our partners to celebrate this historic milestone marking the completion one of the most modern, most efficient and highly reliable gas-fired power plants in the world and contributing to the further advancement of Tunisia.”
Mr. Kawamoto added: “The Rades C combined cycle power plant reflects Mitsubishi Power’s long-term commitment to Tunisia, where our advanced technology has supported STEG to expand the country’s power capacity over the last four decades. As STEG celebrates its 60th anniversary, we look forward to continue working with them to help power the country’s sustainable development goals for many decades to come, with our future-ready solutions that lead the world in efficiency and reliability.”
For this project, Mitsubishi Power provided a high-efficiency M701F gas turbine, a steam turbine, a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG), as well as a team of onsite technical advisors and supervisors to support the construction and commissioning periods. Consortium partner Sumitomo Corporation provided the balance of plant equipment and undertook the civil and installation works.
In addition to the equipment supply, Mitsubishi Power will support STEG with the maintenance of the power plant under a long-term service agreement (LTSA) with TOMONI HUB which support continuous 365 days, 24 hours monitoring.
The project was financed by the Japanese Official Development Assistant (ODA) organized by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) under the Japanese government’s “Partnership for Quality Infrastructure” initiative.
The Rades C power project has utilized local content, materials and resources and equipment, resulting in the creation of around 70 permanent jobs and approximately 2,000 additional jobs during project development and construction.
Mitsubishi Power has a 40-year heritage in Tunisia, which began with the delivery of power generation solutions, in terms of gas and oil-fired boilers and steam turbines for Rades A, a 340MW Rades A power plant located in the same power station as Rades C. The Rades A power plant has been successfully operational since 1985.