Germany's Lausward Finishes, Fires CCGT Plant

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--First firing has been completed at a new, 595-megawatt (MW), combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant in Lausward, Germany.

Project developer Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) (Munich, Germany) said the firing at the plant near the city of Dusseldorf paves the way for full commissioning later this year. The 500 million-euro ($548 million) contract was awarded in 2012 by plant owner Stadtwerke Düsseldorf AG (SWD), and Siemens claimed that the plant will be one of the most efficient gas-fired plants in the world when operational.

The plant features Siemens' SGT5-8000H gas turbine, which the company maintained will allow, for the first time, the extraction of 300 megawatt-thermal (MWth) of district heat from a single power plant unit in combined-cycle operation. The plant will have a claimed efficiency rating of more than 61%. Siemens also supplied a SST5-5000 steam turbine, SGen5-3000W generator and a Benson heat recovery steam generator, alongside a SPPA-T3000 I&C system and other auxiliary systems. It also has been retained to provide a long-term maintenance contract for the main components.

"We are very happy with the progress of the construction site," said Udo Brockmeier, chairman of the managing board at Stadtwerke Düsseldorf. "The cooperation with Siemens is outstanding, and the costs and timing within the time frame."

"This power plant is a very challenging project," said Lothar Balling, head of the Project Management business unit in the Siemens Power and Gas Division. "Construction of the plant is progressing right on schedule, thanks to the excellent collaboration with the Düsseldorf municipal utilities and to our experience in the erection of turn-key power plants. Without any reportable accidents after 1.8 million working hours over a period of more than 700 days, construction work at this plant is also a showcase project when it comes to occupational health and safety."

The plant may be a showcase for Siemens' new gas turbine technology, but the company's CEO, Joe Kaeser, believes that it could be one of the last to be built in Germany as the country's government throws its support behind more renewable energy.

"The way in which Germany's energy transition is being handled has made it impossible for us to ever sell our fossil fuel-related products and solutions in Germany," Kaeser said in an internal Siemens' magazine.

Last month, Industrial Info reported on Siemens' decision to cut another 4,500 jobs, many of them in its struggling Power and Gas Division. Second-quarter profits for the division, which accounts for about 40% of the company's total business, fell more than a third against the same period in 2014. For additional information, see May 13, 2015, article - Siemens to Cut Another 4,500 Jobs.

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