Alstom secures supply contract for CCGT plant

Alstom SA has secured two contracts worth a total of 450 million euros (US$665.7 million) from Grosskraftwerk Mannheim AG (GKM) for the supply of boilers and turbines to GKM's supercritical coal-fired combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

The Mannheim power station is a combined heat and power (CHP) facility with an installed capacity of 1,675 megawatts (MW). The site has been used for power generation for more than 85 years and generates about 1,000 MW of power and heat. The expansion will add a new 900-MW unit, phasing out the existing units 3 and 4, each of which has a capacity of 220 MW.

As part of the expansion venture, also known as the Mannheim 9 project, Alstom will supply constituent components and install the power generation unit, comprising a tower model boiler island, an STF 100 five-casing steam turbine, a condenser, a GIGATOP two-pole turbo-generator, and other associated infrastructure such as mills and coal bunkers. Alstom will also be responsible for carrying out performance tests on the installed structure.

CHP technology can reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by 300,000 tons per year, in addition to saving about 200,000 tons of coal equivalent on electricity generation. The proposed new unit will employ the latest technologies to control effluent emissions, in addition to consuming less coal. With the CHP unit and emissions controls, the plant is expected to save about 1 million tons per year of carbon-dioxide emissions.

Upon completion in 2013, the new plant will cater to 25% of the power requirements of the Rhein-Neckar region. GKM is a joint venture of RWE AG subsidiary RWE Power, which has a 40% stake; EnBW Kraftwerke AG, which has a 32% stake; and MVV Energie AG with a 28% stake.

Germany is aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 21% from 2008 through 2012. In 2008, the country was able to achieve a reduction of 9.4 million tons of carbon dioxide, which forms about 88% of the total emissions. With an increased focus on renewable and natural-gas-based energy generation, reduced demand for black- and brown-coal-based projects, and several new and upgraded CHP plants on the cards, the country is well on track to achieving this target.