03.11.2016 GE
AES Gener Awards Major Steam Turbine-Generator Fleet Overhaul to GE Initiative Highlights GE’s Robust Services Capabilities to Work on Other Manufacturers’ Power Generation Equipment, Boosting Value to Utilities
AES Gener S.A., the second-largest power generation company in Chile in terms of installed capacity, has signed a multiyear agreement with GE’s Power Services (NYSE: GE) to provide services and tools to overhaul up to nine steam turbines and generators—supplied by different original equipment manufacturers (OEMs)—at four thermal-fired power plants helping to address the nation’s electricity demands, which are increasing at about 3.5 percent annually.
“Given our need to keep reliable maintenance procedures for our thermal-fired power plants to help address the country’s energy demands, we selected GE because they have the expertise to service steam turbines and generators from different manufacturers and the proven local service facilities and labor resources required to successfully complete our projects,” said Javier Giorgio, chief executive officer for AES Gener.
“While part of Chile’s additional generation capacity[1] will come from increased renewable energy production, the nation’s utilities also are making significant investments to increase the output and efficiency of their existing thermal power stations to help meet the country’s growing demands for cleaner, more affordable electricity,” said Ramon Paramio, general manager of GE’s Power Services in Latin America. “We are excited to support AES’ steam turbine-generator overhaul initiative and demonstrate how our total plant solutions can successfully deliver greater value for our customers throughout the region.”
Steam Turbine-Generator Fleet Overhaul Initiative
As part of this agreement, GE will overhaul nine steam turbines located at four different thermal-fired power plants throughout Chile. From those, eight are of other manufacturers and one from GE. The agreement also includes an option to expand the scope of work.
The first of the nine turbine-generator projects began in September 2016, when GE overhauled a steam turbine and generator at the 264-megawatt (MW) Nueva Tocopilla thermal-fired power plant in the Antofagasta Region located about 1,500 kilometers from Santiago de Chile.
The turbine-generator service agreement comes less than a year after GE and Sociedad Eléctrica Santiago SpA, an entity controlled by AES Gener, announced a multiyear (15-year) services agreement for the 379-MW Nueva Renca Power Plant, a natural gas combined-cycle power plant in the Santiago region. The Nueva Renca plant is powered by one GE 9FA gas turbine in combined-cycle mode with a GE D11 steam turbine.
About AES Gener
AES Gener S.A. is a private company and the largest power producer in terms of energy in Chile. The Company operates thermoelectric, hydroelectric and solar power plants with more than 4.1 gigawatts (GW) of installed capacity in Chile and 1.7 GW in Colombia and Argentina. AES Corporation owns a majority stake in the equity of AES Gener.
About GE’s Power Services
GE’s Power Services, headquartered in Baden, Switzerland, delivers world-class solutions for our customers across total plant assets and their operational lifetimes. This organization supports 2,800+ customers worldwide with an installed base of 28,000+ power generation assets, which includes other OEMs, and taps into the Industrial Internet to improve the performance of our solutions over the entire life cycle through the power of software and big data analytics.
[1] Of Chile’s total installed generating capacity of 19,760 MW in 2015, hydroelectric power accounted for 33.2 percent and fossil fuels account for most of the remainder, including coal-fired power plants (21.8 percent), LNG (16.7 percent) and diesel (18.6 percent). Non-conventional renewables accounted for 9.7 percent.