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Origin Energy Selects GE to Build Australian Power Plant

Posted on: Sunday, 17 June 2007, 21:02 CDT

Australia's Origin Energy Power has selected GE Energy and its consortium partner CH2M Hill to supply a turnkey power package for a coal seam gas-fired power plant in a remote region of Queensland.

Located near Braemar, Queensland, the Darling Downs power station will be based on a GE 309E combined-cycle system and is scheduled to enter commercial operation in the first quarter of 2010. The plant will produce 630MW in high-fired operation.

The plant will use coal seam gas produced in Origin Energy's coal seam gas fields, which will be piped to the site, the company said.

As well as supplying equipment including three Frame 9E gas turbines, four generators, one C7 steam turbine and three heat recovery steam generators, GE has signed a six-year contractual service agreement with Origin Energy to provide predictable maintenance costs and guaranteed outage durations and plant performance.

CH2M Hill will provide integrated engineering, balance-of-plant equipment, site civil work, equipment installation and erection activities in conjunction with its construction partner Laing O'Rourke.

The GE gas turbines will be built at GE's facilities in Belfort, France, the gas turbine generators in Elin, Austria and the steam turbine-generators in Schenectady, New York. Equipment shipments are expected to start in April 2008 and run through December 2008, with installation proceeding through the fourth quarter of 2009.

"Our 9E gas turbine technology is an ideal solution for Origin Energy's generating needs at Darling Downs," noted John Reinker, general manager of the heavy-duty gas turbine and combined-cycle product line for GE Energy.

"This turbine provides great flexibility to accommodate a coal seam gas-fired plant operation, and also accommodates use of an air-cooled condenser to minimize water use in an area of Australia that has been experiencing severe drought conditions for several years," Mr Reinker concluded.

In addition to this project, GE has recently announced that it will supply a Frame 9E gas turbine-generator for another Origin Energy project, the expansion of the Quarantine power station on Torrens Island north of Adelaide, Australia.

Source: Datamonitor

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