Turkey's Pioneering Hybrid Power Plant Gets Bigger

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) -- The world's first power plant to combine gas, solar and wind technologies has just been given the green light to almost double in size.

The so-called integrated renewable combined-cycle (IRCC) power plant, which is being developed in Turkey by MetCap Energy Investments (Istanbul, Turkey), has been granted permission to increase in rom its original 570 megawatts (MW) to 1,080 MW. The project is to be based in the north of the Karaman province and is scheduled to start commercial operation by the end of 2015. For additional information, see October 7, 2011, article - First Integrated Renewables Combined-Cycle Plant to be Built in Turkey

The companies have also agreed to push ahead with the development of an 878MW gas-fired power plant, known as Eurostar, in Kirklareli, Turkey. Site work for the Eurostar power plant began in July, with full construction expected to kick-off in January.

When completed, the Eurostar power plant, consisting of two Frame 9FB Gas Turbines, one steam turbine and one heat recovery steam generator, will produce enough power to supply 2.3 million households in Istanbul. It will have an efficiency rating of around 58% when it comes online in 2014. The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) will be provided by the GE-Gama consortium.

"Turkey needs a diversified and sustainable energy resource portfolio due to the country's growing economic needs and energy demands that cannot be met with a single fuel or technology," said Ricardo Cordoba, regional president of GE Energy. "Without investment in new power plants, Turkey could face a serious energy shortage. Highly efficient natural gas fired combined-cycle power plants like Eurostar will be a critical part of the country's electricity supply."

The Dervish IRCC power plant will use a pair of General Electric's (NYSE:GE) (GE) (Fairfield, Connecticut) FlexEfficiency 50 CCGT packages. The package is a development of the company's standard integrated solar combined-cycle offering and integrates a 50-Hertz 9FB gas turbine, a 109D-14 steam turbine and a heat-recovery steam generator in a single-shaft configuration, with 22 MW of GE wind turbines and 50 MW of eSolar concentrated solar power (CSP) thermal tower technology. GE will also supply its Mark VIe plant control system. The company claimed that the plant will have an efficiency rating of around 69% and boat no liquid discharge, reduced emissions and a single button, start-up in under 30 minutes.

The MetCap/GE alliance creates a new model for integrating gas-fired and renewable energy sources, which could expand to other countries if the Dervish project proves successful. Turkey is determined to clean up its energy mix and its government has set out increased targets for the rollout of renewable energy technologies.

"Projects such as Eurostar and Dervish will help to light up Istanbul and Turkey," said Dr. Celal Metin, chairman of MetCap Energy Investments. "They are further evidence that the MetCap-GE alliance can create growth opportunities to deliver leading technology to Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere in the world. Working together, we will set a new standard for the efficient integration of natural gas and renewable energy."

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