Sharjah, February 22, 2006 -- Sharjah Electricity & Water Authority (SEWA) has selected GE Energy's gas turbine technology for the Hamriyah Power Station, located in the Emirate of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
GE will supply four Frame 9E gas turbines for phase one of the simple-cycle, base load power plant, which will add 380 megawatts of capacity to the Sharjah electricity grid. The primary fuel will be natural gas.
The UAE has demonstrated strong growth in electricity demand in recent years. Annual growth peaked at 14.1 percent in 2004, and continues to be strong in 2005 with an increase of 12.1 percent forecast. The Sharjah project is part of the UAE's plan to meet this growing demand by nearly doubling its current installed capacity from about 11,000 megawatts to 20,000 megawatts by 2020.
The gas turbines will be manufactured at GE Energy's facilities in Belfort, France, with the four machines scheduled for shipment between February and June of 2006. The new gas turbines will enter commercial service between June of 2006 and March of 2007.
"This will be a fast-track project," said William Cooney, Thermal Product Line General Manager for GE Energy. "We have only ten and a half months from the time we received the order to bring the first unit on line, to help meet the region's urgent need for additional power."
In addition to the supply of the four gas turbines, GE's contract includes erection and commissioning of the machines, along with electrical and mechanical balance-of-plant equipment.
To date, 40 GE Frame 9E gas turbines have been supplied for projects in the UAE, including eight provided to SEWA for the Wasit Power Station.
Designed for high availability and low maintenance costs, GE's Frame 9E gas turbines have accumulated more than 14 million hours of utility and industrial service worldwide.
GE Energy (www.ge.com/energy) is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technologies, with 2005 revenue of $16.5 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.
Anja Pegger
GE
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