Argentine Firm Could Take on Thermoelectric Expansion Project with Siemens

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--After several delays, Electroingenieria S.A., (Cordoba) could be in charge of the repowering of the Gobernador Arturo Zanichelli thermoelectric plant (Central Pilar).

The plant, in Pilar, Cordoba, is owned and operated by local energy company, Empresa Provincial de Energia Electrica de Cordoba (EPEC), which is the main entity responsible for generation, transmission and retail distribution of electricity in the province.

Although the contract has not been awarded yet, Electroingenieria of Argentina was the only bidder, after failed attempts by Italy's Ansaldo and France's Alstom, to participate in the third round of bids, presenting a proposal with an investment of more than $400 million, exceeding the original project cost by 18%.

The project, estimated to take 30 months in the initial phase, consists of installing a gas-fired, combined-cycle generating facility composed of two Siemens gas turbines with a power output of 160 MW each and a Siemens steam turbine of the same capacity, along with a heat recovery steam generator to close the cycle. The complete cycle will result in an extra 480 megawatts (MW) of capacity, added to the plant's nominal output of 216 MW that would help mitigate Argentina's power crisis.

EPEC has 40 days, until December 24, 2007, to evaluate Electroingenieria's proposal and either rescind or accept the offer. This stage is significant for EPEC because previous attempts, with Ansaldo and Alstom, did not reach the opening of the bid-forms phase.

The expansion project, with a kick-off date scheduled for March 2008, is estimated to take 30 months for the operation of the first gas turbine in open-cycle mode. The whole combined cycle is expected to be completed by the beginning of 2011, according to Electroingenieria's schedule.

Electroingenieria, through a Siemens-led consortium, is carrying out the civil work for the turnkey construction of the two combined-cycle power plants in Campana in Buenos Aires and in Timbues near Rosario City in Santa Fe scheduled to become operational by March 2008. For more details, view related February 12, 2007, article - Siemens to Build Two Power Plants in Argentina to Overcome Power Shortage.

View Plant ID: 1073151

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