GE's Power Services Secures More Than $310M In Power Plant Service Contracts, Creating Models For Latin American, Caribbean Utilities

• TECHINT Group Awards GE Long-Term Services Contract for New TECHGEN Power Plant in Mexico
• Chile’s AES Gener Signs 15-Year Services Agreement with GE to Upgrade Nueva Renca Station
• At Penal Power Station in Trinidad, GE Overhauls Gas Turbines in First Flange-to-Flange Turbine Replacement Project in Latin American/Caribbean Region

GE’s Power Services business recently announced it has secured more than $310M in services orders for three power plants in Latin America as utilities throughout the region look to boost the efficiency and reliability of their new and existing combined-cycle generating facilities to keep pace with local energy demands. The latest agreements cover a new power plant being built in Mexico and existing facilities in Chile and on the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago.

“We are very pleased to have been selected to provide long-term maintenance services for the new TECHGEN Power Plant in Mexico, which underscores the faith that utilities have in us to protect their significant investments in new power plants,” said Ramon Paramio, general manager of GE’s Power Services business in Latin America. “Meanwhile, our projects in Chile and Trinidad and Tobago illustrate the vital efficiency advantages that utilities can gain from modernizing their older power plants. There is a growing trend in the Latin American/Caribbean region to focus on modernizing these older power plants to make them more energy efficient and increase their fuel flexibility. These two projects will serve as models for other Latin American and Caribbean utilities that are operating more mature gas turbine fleets."

TECHGEN Power Plant, Mexico
GE has been awarded a multiyear agreement by TECHINT Group to provide long-term maintenance services for three 7FA.05 gas turbines and a D11 steam turbine that will be installed at the new TECHGEN Power Plant, a natural gas combined-cycle plant in the Pesquería area of the state of Nuevo León in Mexico. Tenaris S.A., Ternium S.A. and Tecpetrol International S.A. are jointly building the 850-900 megawatt (MW) power plant to reduce the electricity costs of Tenaris and Ternium's respective Mexican industrial operations.

“In Mexico, where the government has embarked on an ambitious campaign to reform its energy sector and support the investment in new energy production and transportation infrastructure, GE’s advanced generating technology and power plant services capabilities will help us optimize the availability of our power plant assets,” said Humberto Fernandez, project director for TECHINT Group. “The agreement with GE will help us ensure the long-term reliability of the TECHGEN Power Plant, which will provide more reliable, lower-cost electricity to support the Tenaris and Ternium industrial facilities.”

The plant is expected to begin commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Nueva Renca Power Plant, Chile
GE’s Power Services recently signed a 15-year agreement with Sociedad Eléctrica Santiago SpA, an entity controlled by AES Gener, in Chile to provide long-term services for the Nueva Renca Power Plant, a 379-MW natural gas combined-cycle power plant in the Santiago region. AES Gener is the second largest generation company in Chile in terms of installed capacity and with 4,082 MW in operation by December 2014. Operated by Sociedad Eléctrica Santiago, the facility named Nueva Renca is powered by one 9FA in combined-cycle mode with a GE D11 steam turbine.

Upgrades to the 9FA gas turbine were critical to the stability of the grid in Chile. They included GE’s DLN 2.6+ technology, GE’s most advanced combustion system, and software solutions including OpFlex* gas turbine controls and Blade Health Monitoring for the compressor to help increase the gas turbine’s flexibility, efficiency and environmental performance.

“The new multiyear agreement represents another significant milestone in the relationship between us and GE’s Power Services since their first services contract was signed 15 years earlier. This new agreement extends the existing relationship for a similar term,” said Javier Giorgio, chief operating officer for AES Gener. “With our new service agreement with GE, we look forward to building on our excellent relationship in the deployment of the latest generation and combustion technologies that will help us reduce both the operational costs and environmental impacts of our Nueva Renca Power Plant.”

Penal Power Station, Trinidad and Tobago
Power Generation Company of Trinidad and Tobago, Ltd. (PowerGen Ltd.) has selected GE’s Power Services business to replace two MS7001E (Frame 7E) gas turbines at its 236-MW Penal Power Stationwith two new MS7001EA (Frame 7EA) gas turbine units. The upgrade project, the first flange-to-flange gas turbine replacement in the Latin America/Caribbean region for GE, is expected to improve the natural gas combined-cycle power plant’s efficiency and increase of its output by 26 MW.

“Replacing the existing gas turbines at the Penal Power Station with GE’s upgraded MS7001EA units will improve our power generation efficiency and provide added value in terms of greater availability by establishing longer intervals between scheduled maintenance outages,” said Fitzroy Harewood, general manager, PowerGen Ltd.

With the gas turbines’ rotors and other components nearing the end of their operational life, PowerGen Ltd. chose to completely replace the two turbines during a scheduled maintenance outage instead of performing more costly, incremental repairs. The new gas turbines will improve the heat rate of the plant by 2.25 percent in addition to adding 25-30 years of gas turbine life to the site.

In addition to the two new gas turbines, the project includes a 16-year maintenance agreement in which GE will supply spare parts and repairs as needed.