GE has an 80-year energy partnership with Saudi Arabia
GENERAL Electric Company said it has signed a nearly $700 million deal with Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) to supply natural gas turbine generators, reports Reuters.
The order comes as demand for GE’s generators has begun to slowly recover after being weak for more than two years due to slowing global electricity demand.
Mohammed Mohaisen, the CEO of Power Generation Products and Services Sales for GE Power & Water in the Middle East, said: “We are dedicated to providing innovative products, technology and services to produce reliable power to support the kingdom’s growing energy needs. Our proven F-class technology provides cost-effective, fuel-efficient and flexible power generation.”
The contract also includes two contractual service agreements, one for each site, covering planned maintenance on the units for a fixed period of eight years.
Ali Albarrak, the CEO and president of SEC, said: “We chose GE once again for our largest project because of their advanced technology which features proven efficiency performance.”
GE’s technology previously has been chosen for SEC’s PP9, PP10, PP11 and PP12 power plants. PP13 and PP14 will feature 12 GE 7F-5 gas turbines, four GE steam turbines and 16 generators, and are a further expansion of GE’s 7F-5 gas turbine technology used in the PP12 project in the country.
“In addition, GE technology has the ability to respond to dramatic daily changes in power demand while maintaining high levels of fuel efficiency in line with the growing power resource needs of our country,” Albarrak noted.
“PP13 will be located next to PP11 and PP12 at Dhurma, and PP14 will be located next to PP10, south of Riyadh. Today, GE equipment assists in the generation of over half of Saudi Arabia’s power supply, with more than 500 gas turbines installed in the kingdom. The company operates in approximately 40 SEC power plants – an alliance that spans over four decades,” he added.
GE expects to begin shipping the new turbines, which will be built in South Carolina and New York, to Saudi Arabia in the beginning of 2015.
