GE has completed the modernization of ELPEDISON S.A.’s Thessaloniki Power Plant in Greece. GE upgraded ELPEDISON’s power generation assets, consisting of a GE 9F.03 gas turbine and a Franco Tosi-supplied steam turbine, and installed digital solutions to help increase the plant’s output by more than 20 MW, equal to powering 17,000 Greek households, and reduce its start-up costs by 10%. The modernization project increased the efficiency of the power plant with decreased fuel consumption and emissions.
The project is part of Greece’s plans for transition toward lower carbon power generation.
“A number of factors drive the growth of the energy sector of Greece; primarily, the required improvement of the energy mix, the liberalization of the electricity and natural gas markets, as well as the efforts to improve energy efficiency and reduce the costs and infrastructure development,” said Silvio Jean, director of ELPEDISON Power Generation. “As the first independent energy producer in Greece, it is important for us to increase our competitiveness in the power segment by extending the life of our plants and providing the best service to our users. By using the latest GE technology, we will also significantly lower emissions, by improving our heat rate by almost 2% and lower our minimum load, reducing our cost’s structure and providing value to the environment and to our clients.”
GE installed its DLN 2.6+ combustor system, its OpFlex software solution, and its Advanced Gas Path (AGP) technology on its 9F gas turbine. In addition, GE increased the agility on the plant’s Franco Tosi steam turbine with a replacement of its HP/IP rotor with a new configuration supporting an operating profile in line with the new energy needs. These engineering enhancements will reduce the impact of degradation that naturally occurs with time on the rotor components and improve their lifespan, according to GE.
The project included GE Digital’s Operations Performance Management (OPM) software solution. Enabled by edge-to-cloud technology, OPM will analyze Thessaloniki’s plant historical performance and operations to monitor and diagnose possible issues, improve capacity planning, and drive improved efficiency, flexibility, capacity, and emissions.
“Greece’s recovery plan proposes investments and reforms that support climate objectives providing an opportunity to progress with longer-term emissions reductions. Pursuing initiatives that support sustainable increases in efficiency and increasing the share of natural gas and renewable energy in the energy mix would contribute to the country’s energy transition goals” said Steven Miller, services leader for GE Gas Power Europe. “With this project, the Thessaloniki Power Plant will see an increase in power output and flexibility, improved efficiency, extended asset lifetime, as well as significant savings on fuel costs in line with the energy sector reform that Greece is currently implementing.”
The project was completed during a gas turbine major overhaul by FieldCore, the field services execution team owned by GE. As the COVID-19 pandemic was unfolding, engineers from GE and FieldCore worked together and in close co-operation with ELPEDISON to quickly implement an array of safety measures to ensure safe execution in compliance with local, national, and company regulations.
“We are pleased to have completed this important modernization safely and successfully to help ELPEDISON support the country’s plans for the transition toward lower carbon power generation,” said Miller.
