The new combined-cycle plant going up in Malmö (Sweden) for which Hitachi Power Europe is responsible as the consortium leader for the complete plant design.
A critical milestone for Hitachi Power Europe (HPE) was recently reached - on 31st March the gas turbine at the Malmö power plant was officially fired. The gas turbine reached its nominal rotating speed and the balance of power plant equipment needed was placed as planned into service. The complete plant is scheduled to go into commercial operation in August 2009 following an ambitious construction project of two and a half years.
The combined-cycle (gas and steam) power plant in the southern Swedish port of Malmö is one of the most modern of its kind. Its capacity amounts to 440 megawatts (MW) for power and 250 MW for heat, and under combined operations the energy of the fuel gas is utilised to 89% – an absolute peak figure in the world.
In 2006, HPE and GE Energy obtained the order to build the plant with an investment volume of approximately 220 million Euros. HPE was responsible for the balance of power plant equipment, overall plant design, constructional planning and implementation, erection and start-up management, and with GE Energy's contribution being made with the power train and instrumentation and control.
The construction of the combined cycle plant presented the planners with real challenges. The key components – gas turbine set, steam turbine set and heat recovery boiler – had to be integrated into the existing building of a 1950s coal-fired power plant. At peak periods some 70 Hitachi Power Office staff and a workforce numbering 500, including constructional management personnel on the site, were occupied with the construction of the combined-cycle power plant.
When the combined cycle power plant is in operation from August it will not only be supplying electricity and district heat for Malmö, but will also be making a major contribution to climate protection. This comes in the form of the power plant replacing existing coal-fired plants in Scandinavia and a reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by approximately one million tons a year. The combined-cycle plant therefore has a significant ecological impact.
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