Gas turbine orders surge at Alstom

Turbomachinery International, Nov/Dec 2005

Alstom reports that sales of its GT26 machines are picking up with recent orders from Germany and Italy. At the end of September the company was awarded a contract to start "permitting engineering" work on an 800 MW combined cycle plant at Lingen, Germany, from RWE Power of Essen - one of the largest power producers in Europe. Four weeks later Energia SpA, the Milanbased power and gas supplier, awarded Alstom a contract for a 800 MW combined cycle to be built at a site in the south of Italy.

This is the first GT24/26 order since December, 2004. Alstom re-entered the market in October last year with a contract for three single-shaft blocks at Cartagena, Spain for Gaz Natural.

The gas turbines for Lingen will include all the recent improvements to the engines, in particular the upgraded compressor that was first introduced into the fleet in 2003. There are to date 28 engines operating with this upgrade. Alstom claims these have logged over 201.000 fired hours of trouble-free experience.

The last two orders (Cartagena and Khaeng Khoi) have the upgrade fitted. Two of the three cartagena engines have already achieved first ignition. Currently. hot coinmmissioning is in progress.

The market for the smaller GT13E2s has remained strong. Two were sold in March 2005 to Keppel Energy, Singapore, for a regeneration plant on Jurong Island followed by three simple eyele units for a peaking station at Braemar, near Brisbane, Australia. Contracts for two more GT13E2s for a 500 MW combined cycle were awarded in October. This plant will be installed at Argentine Aluminium's refinery at Puerto Madryn. The contract brings the number of GT13E2s sold so far to 100. Alstom will also supply two gas treatment systems for the refinery's pot room and anode bake furnace.