Efficiency Improvements Could Impact More than 150,000 Turkish Homes
ISTANBUL, TURKEY---November 17, 2008---GE Energy announced today that ENKA Power, a leading utility company in Turkey, has become the first global customer to invest in GE's newest fuel-saving technology for gas turbines. The efficiency upgrades will be made at two of Turkey's most important power plants, ENKA Power's facilities in Adapazari and Izmir. The new upgrades are capable of helping ENKA meet the terms of Turkey's new energy initiative to improve efficiency and productivity.
The project marks the global debut of GE's newly developed cooling optimization package for 9FA gas turbines. The package increases gas turbine efficiency by more than one percent, which is expected to provide ENKA with significant savings in fuel costs per kilowatt of electricity generated.
When completed, the upgrades increase the total output of five combined-cycle blocks by approximately 35 megawatts, or enough power to serve an additional 150,000 Turkish households. GE's fuel saving technology will help each gas turbine reduce the carbon release by one percent per megawatt produced.
According to published reports earlier this year in the Turkish Daily News, Turkey's domestic energy demand increased by 8.6 percent in 2007, continuing a growth rate that has averaged around eight percent for the last five years.
"Increasing the efficiency of the country's electricity production to meet this demand is a cornerstone of the Turkish government's plans for economic growth and related societal improvements," said Ricardo Cordoba, president of GE Energy Western Europe and Northern Africa.
"Turkey represents a tremendous growth opportunity for GE Energy," Cordoba continued. "The country's economy is the sixth largest in Europe and is expected to grow more than five percent in 2008, with electricity demand outpacing the available power supply. In this environment, increased efficiency of existing power plants is an important factor for success."
The new gas turbine package being applied at the two ENKA Power facilities is part of GE's program to continually advance its worldwide fleet of F-class gas turbines and combined-cycle plants, in response to customer requirements for improved power plant performance and operational flexibility.
"When we were informed about the upgrade package, we got excited about expected results," said Tahsin Kösem, operation director of ENKA Power Plants. "Since ENKA has always been a leader in the energy sector, we have decided to become the first plant to implement and help validate this important upgrade program."
GE supplied 10 Frame 9FA gas turbines---six for the Adapazari/Gebze plant and four for the Izmir plant---to ENKA Power in 2000, and the plants were commissioned in 2002 and 2003, adding a total of approximately 3,830 megawatts of power to the Turkish electricity grid. The upgrade packages for six of the 10 gas turbines have been completed during 2008. The remaining four will be completed in 2009 as part of a scheduled major outage for the units.
GE is providing the components for the upgrade packages, with support from ENKA's subsidiary CIMTAS for piping fabrication and installation. Additionally, GE is installing upgraded Mark* VIe control systems to further enhance gas turbine performance. Mark V processors will be upgraded to modern Mark Ve processors for mounting in the existing cabinets. The new Mark Ve control system is enabling ENKA to implement multiple performance enhancing technologies that will help to reduce fuel and harmful emissions. The Mark Ve control system does so using technologically advanced processors, networks and operator interfaces.
About Enka Power
ENKA Power www.enkapower.com, which is part of the ENKA Construction and Industry Co. Ltd. www.enka.com of Istanbul, operates power plants in Turkey totaling 3,830 megawatts of output.
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 2007 revenue of $22 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 http://www.ge.com. GE is Imagination at Work.
* Mark is a trademark of General Electric Company.
Howard Masto
Masto Public Relations
[email protected]
1-518-786-6488
Ken Darling
Masto Public Relations
[email protected]
1-518-786-6488
Cynthia Mahoney White
[email protected]
1-518-385-5892
GE news
Masto Public Relations
[email protected]
business unit
tags