Released June 29, 2009 | GALWAY, IRELAND
en
Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Ireland's natural gas company, Bord Gáis (Cork), says that the construction of its first power plant is on track, following the award of the operations and maintenance contract to GE Energy Services, part of the General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) (Fairfield, Connecticut). Bord Gais began construction of its 445-megawatt (MW) combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plant at Whitegate, County Cork, on the southwest coast of Ireland, in 2007 and expects to commence first firing in December of this year. The plant is scheduled to be fully operational by July 2010. The Whitegate plant represents the first major investment by Bord Gáis in the Irish power generation sector and will produce enough electricity for approximately 500,000 homes.
The operations and maintenance contract for the plant was awarded to GE after a six-month tendering process and will see the creation of 30 highly skilled positions at the power plant. GE, along with construction partner GAMA Power Systems, secured the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the 407 million euro ($568 million) plant in 2007, after a 10-month tendering process. GE and GAMA are already involved in the running of the 400-MW Tynagh CCGT plant in Galway, on Ireland's west coast.
The Whitegate project is now 65% complete with the majority of the civil works completed and key equipment installed. Mechanical and electrical installation are under way, with Dornan Engineering (Cork) employed to complete the electrical, instrumentation and HVAC contracts. According to Bord Gáis, the plant "is on schedule and on budget."
"The Whitegate power plant is the first major investment by Bord Gáis in the Irish power generation sector," said Dave Kirwan, Investments Managing Director at Bord Gáis. "This facility is one of the most environmentally sound conventional power generation facilities in the world today. It will form the base from which Bord Gáis Energy will source and supply its customers' electricity demands for many years to come. Throughout the project, GE has provided a highly experienced and respected partnership and we are looking forward to building on this relationship through to the operational phase."
Diarmaid Mulholland, Managing Director for GE Energy Services in Europe, said, "The operations and maintenance program will help to improve reliability, while minimising equipment downtime at the plant. The new O&M [operations and maintenance] agreement also allows for upgrades to the latest technologies supplied by GE and access to dedicated, full-time personnel."
Bord Gáis has committed to spending almost one billion euros ($1.4 billion) in developing its electricity generating portfolio in Ireland, with a plan to balance conventional plants with renewable sources. In November last year, the company spent 50 million euro ($69.8 million) on its first windfarm, a 30-MW development in Galway that will be operational in 2011. The company has already purchased the working 32-MW Sorne windfarm in Donegal for 100 million euro ($140 million) and is now in negotiations to buy a second windfarm development in Tipperary that will boost its wind power generation capacity to 120 MW.
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Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy related markets. For more than 26 years, Industrial Info has provided plant and project opportunity databases, market forecasts, high resolution maps, and daily industry news.
The operations and maintenance contract for the plant was awarded to GE after a six-month tendering process and will see the creation of 30 highly skilled positions at the power plant. GE, along with construction partner GAMA Power Systems, secured the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the 407 million euro ($568 million) plant in 2007, after a 10-month tendering process. GE and GAMA are already involved in the running of the 400-MW Tynagh CCGT plant in Galway, on Ireland's west coast.
The Whitegate project is now 65% complete with the majority of the civil works completed and key equipment installed. Mechanical and electrical installation are under way, with Dornan Engineering (Cork) employed to complete the electrical, instrumentation and HVAC contracts. According to Bord Gáis, the plant "is on schedule and on budget."
"The Whitegate power plant is the first major investment by Bord Gáis in the Irish power generation sector," said Dave Kirwan, Investments Managing Director at Bord Gáis. "This facility is one of the most environmentally sound conventional power generation facilities in the world today. It will form the base from which Bord Gáis Energy will source and supply its customers' electricity demands for many years to come. Throughout the project, GE has provided a highly experienced and respected partnership and we are looking forward to building on this relationship through to the operational phase."
Diarmaid Mulholland, Managing Director for GE Energy Services in Europe, said, "The operations and maintenance program will help to improve reliability, while minimising equipment downtime at the plant. The new O&M [operations and maintenance] agreement also allows for upgrades to the latest technologies supplied by GE and access to dedicated, full-time personnel."
Bord Gáis has committed to spending almost one billion euros ($1.4 billion) in developing its electricity generating portfolio in Ireland, with a plan to balance conventional plants with renewable sources. In November last year, the company spent 50 million euro ($69.8 million) on its first windfarm, a 30-MW development in Galway that will be operational in 2011. The company has already purchased the working 32-MW Sorne windfarm in Donegal for 100 million euro ($140 million) and is now in negotiations to buy a second windfarm development in Tipperary that will boost its wind power generation capacity to 120 MW.
View Plant Profile - 1063537
View Project Report - 80300035
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy related markets. For more than 26 years, Industrial Info has provided plant and project opportunity databases, market forecasts, high resolution maps, and daily industry news.
