Siemens to build turnkey combined cycle power plant in Germany

Siemens Energy has received an order for turnkey erection of the Lausward combined cycle power plant with district heat extraction in Düsseldorf. It will employ Siemens H-class combined cycle gas and steam turbine technology, which set a world record a year ago and has since also proven itself in commercial operation. The order was placed by Stadtwerke Düsseldorf AG (SWD). With an electrical unit output of around 595 megawatts (MW) and a net efficiency of over 61 percent, the Lausward CCPP will set a new world record for both parameters. In addition, the generated thermal energy will be used for the district heating system in the city of Düsseldorf. Never before has it been possible to extract 300 MWth of district heat from a single power plant unit in combined cycle operation. Thus, the overall efficiency of the natural gas fuel will be around 85 percent. The Lausward CCPP plant will be one of the most efficient and environmentally sustainable plants in the world. The order value, including a long-term maintenance contract for the supplied components, is between EUR400 and 500 million.

The Lausward CCPP plant will be built at the Düsseldorf port on the existing Stadtwerke Düsseldorf power plant site and will be designed as a single-shaft plant with gas turbine, generator and steam turbine all arranged on a single shaft. The same configuration was used in the Ulrich Hartmann power plant in Irsching, which has been in commercial operation since June 2011. Besides being responsible for turnkey construction, Siemens will also supply the main components: an SGT5-8000H gas turbine, an SST5-5000 steam turbine, an SGen5-2000H generator and a Benson heat recovery steam generator with an in-house design. The SPPA-T3000 I&C system and other auxiliary systems are also part of the package. On top of this, Siemens has signed a long term maintenance contract for the main components.

”The energy turnaround in Germany requires a whole range of perfectly orchestrated measures”, says Roland Fischer, CEO of the Fossil Power Generation Division at Siemens Energy. “Highly efficient combined cycle power plants significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and can respond quickly enough to compensate for the fluctuations in power generation with renewable energy sources. Thanks to our revolutionary gas turbine technology, the Lausward plant will also set a world record for fuel efficiency, thereby playing an important role in achieving the objectives of the energy turnaround and climate protection in Germany.”

“The Siemens H-class technology is particularly interesting for us as it associated with very high efficiency and a high level of operational flexibility. Energy efficiency is the most important factor for the success of our business, as fuel costs represent our greatest expense. If we can reduce the cost per kilowatt hour through high efficiency, it will give us a significant competitive edge“, states Udo Brockmeier, chairman of the managing board at Stadtwerke Düsseldorf. ”With the fuel utilization factor of around 85 percent it will make a substantial contribution to achieving Germany’s climate protection targets.”