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Siemens gets EUR 80 million Indian steam power plant order

01/13/2009

Siemens Energy received a contract from its Indian licensee Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL) for the supply of components for two steam turbine-generators. The customer is the state-owned energy utility National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd. (NTPC). The volume of this order is approximately EUR 80 million.

The coal-fired power plant Barh II is situated 75 km southwest of Patna in the state of Bihar. It comprises two units, each with an installed capacity of 660 megawatts (MW). The Siemens scope of supply includes one steam turbine, components for a second turbine, one water-cooled generator as well as the electrical and I&C equipment for these two turbine-generators.

This marks the first time that Siemens will supply turbines for supercritical steam conditions via its Indian licensee BHEL for installation in India. These turbines operate at a temperature of 565 degrees C and a pressure of over 240 bar, thereby increasing the efficiency of the associated coal-fired power plants. "By using this type of turbine, it is possible to achieve maximum efficiencies of up to 46 percent," noted Michael Suess, CEO of the division Fossil Power Generation in the Siemens Energy Sector.

Today coal already accounts for more than 50 percent of power generation in India. In the future as well, coal will remain the most important source of energy for the country’s power generation industry. Against this background it can be seen that economy of operation and environmental considerations are of decisive importance in the generation of electricity. "Increasing efficiency by a single percent point in a 700 MW coal-fired power plant will save around 2.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions over a lifetime of 30 years of the plant," remarked Suess.