Poland's Last Coal-fired Plant Goes to GE Power and Alstom

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The contract to build Poland's last coal-fired power plant has been awarded to two joint bidders: U.S. energy company GE Power (Schenectady, New York) and France's Alstom S.A. (OTC:ALSMY) (Paris, France).

The partners will build the 1,000-megawatt (MW) Ostroleka C ultra-supercritical (USC) coal power plant, a $1.7 billion project being developed by Poland's state-owned electricity utility Energa (Gdansk, Poland) with fellow Polish energy major Enea S.A. (WSE:ENA) (Poznan, Poland). They edged out the lowest bidder, China Power Engineering Consulting Group Corporation (CPECC) (Beijing), which had offered to build the plant for just under $1.4 billion and a group of Polish-owned companies, Polimex-Mostostal (Warsaw, Poland) and Rafako (Racibórz, Poland) which came in with a much higher price tag of roughly $2.7 billion. For additional information, see January 9, 2018, article - China Leads Bidding for Poland's Ostroleka 'C' Coal-Fired Project.

GE Power, part of General Electric (NYSE:GE) (Fairfield, Connecticut), said the plant will have an estimated efficiency rating of 45% or higher and will be capable of producing enough power for 300,000 homes. It will design, manufacture and deliver its USC components including boiler and steam turbine generator, alongside environmental control systems such as electrostatic precipitators and a wet flue gas desulphurisation plant.

The plant is the last coal-fired plant planned for Poland--Europe's most coal-reliant nation--as the country is under increased pressure to clean up its power mix by the European Union (EU). Poland relies on coal for more than 80% of its electricity, with the remainder coming from biofuels and to a lesser extent natural gas and renewables. The government would like to see coal's share in the power mix drop to 60% by 2030, but for the short-to-medium term, coal will remain the key source of energy.

"This plant will combine our EPC experience with leading coal-based technology that will help Poland meet its energy needs while also meeting the latest EU standards in terms of air quality," said Andreas Lusch, chief executive officer of GE's Steam Power.

Industrial Info has been tracking GE's difficult financial position following historic losses reported earlier this year for 2017. Industrial Info is tracking more than $90 billion in active projects involving GE and its subsidiaries. For additional information, see January 25, 2018, article - GE Faces Uncertain Future with More than $90 Billion in Active Projects in the Balance.

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