EDF Kicks-off Bouchain Combine Cycle Power Station in Northern France

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources India (Delhi, India)--French Power Major Électricité de France S.A. (EDF: PA) (EDF) (Paris) has kicked off its 510-megawatt (MW) Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Power Station (CCGT) in Bouchain near Valenciennes in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region in northern France.

Scheduled for commissioning in 2015, the power plant will replace a 250-MW coal-fired power plant at Bouchain. The 40-years old power station is due to retire in 2015. The plant has two 125-MW Alstom-make condensing steam turbines and boilers.

EDF has earmarked an investment of €400 million to set up the state-of-the-art high-efficiency combined cycle power plant. General Electric (NYSE:GE) (GE) (Fairfield, Connecticut) will supply the key equipments including the 9FB Gas Turbine, 109D-14 Steam Turbine, and W28 Generators along with the associated Balance of Plant. Local developer CCI Grand Hainaut (Chambre de commerce ET d'industrie Grand Hainaut) (Valenciennes) France, has entered into a partnership with GE to develop the power plant.

Bouchain CCGT is slated for mechanical completion in March 2015, followed by the commencement of commercial generation in October 2015. The high-efficiency gas turbine is likely to half the CO2 emission as compared to the existing units, besides significantly reducing dust emissions from current 250 Milligrams Normal Cubic Meters Per Hour (Nm3/h) to 5 Nm3/h.

According to GE, the power plant being equipped with the new generation "FlexEfficiency50" technology will achieve more than double efficiency at Base Load, which will conserve natural gas and reduce the production of greenhouse gases. Its operating flexibility will enable the plant to respond quickly to fluctuations in grid demand, paving the way for greater use of renewable resources such as wind and solar.

Électricité de France S.A. (EDF; Electricity of France) is a French electric utility company. Headquartered in Paris, EDF operates a diverse portfolio of 120 Gigawatts (GW) of installed generation capacity spread across Europe, South America, North America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

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