Bangkok--25 Dec--Hill & Knowlton
SPE, the second largest electrical utility in the Belgium, has commissioned its Rolls-Royce Trent 60 powered electrical generating plant at the Ham power station in the centre of Ghent. The simple cycle plant, which is the most powerful and fuel-efficient of its type in the world, is also environmentally friendly due to the high efficiency of the Rolls-Royce engines.
Charles Athanasia, Vice President of Power Generation for the Rolls-Royce energy business said, “This represents a significant achievement for Rolls-Royce. The Trent 60 delivers performance levels to SPE that are not available from any other aero derivative gas turbine. Our experience, together with our technology, will enable SPE to run its plant at peak efficiency."
The Rolls-Royce gas turbines have made a significant improvement to the plant’s environmental impact and were a key factor in the decision to replace the diesel engines used at the station for the past 40 years. Two Trent 60 aero derivative gas turbines will provide over 100MW of power during times of peak demand at the Meuse River site, where a power station has been sited for over 80 years.
The noise level of the new plant is now even lower than the ambient noise level on the streets of Ghent. Vibrations from the plant when the diesel engines were running have almost completely disappeared. This environmental improvement was one of the main drivers for the project, given its city centre location.
Following on from this successful installation in Ghent, SPE and Rolls-Royce have joined forces to build another Trent 60 power station on an existing SPE site at Angleur near Liege.
Rolls-Royce has now installed eleven Trent gas turbine generating sets at power station sites in Europe with an additional 12 units on order.
More than 600 Rolls-Royce industrial gas turbines are operating in the Asia Pacific region. In Thailand, Rolls-Royce has 29 gas turbines operating, eleven on offshore platforms in the Gulf of Thailand for PTT Public Company Limited and Chevron Thailand Limited, with the remainder onshore either compressing gas or generating electricity for PTT. An additional 8 gas turbines are either on order or are being installed.
The Trent 60 gas turbine, derived from the Rolls-Royce Trent aero engine for the Boeing 777, is currently the most powerful aero derivative gas turbine available in the world with a power output up to 64MW.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. Rolls-Royce is the world-leading provider of power systems and services for use on land, at sea and in the air. It operates in four global markets - civil aerospace, defence aerospace, marine and energy. The Group has a broad customer base comprising more than 600 airlines, 4,000 corporate and utility aircraft and helicopter operators, 160 armed forces, more than 2,000 marine customers, including 70 navies, and energy customers in nearly 120 countries.
2. The Rolls-Royce Trent 60 engine is rated at 42 per cent efficient, meaning less fuel needs to be consumed to produce the same amount of useable energy compared to other types of power generating plant
3. Rolls-Royce has now sold or received reservations for Trent 60 units in 18 countries. The Trent 60 not only provides the extra power valued by customers, but its lower emissions levels will benefit the environment. It is capable of starting and achieving full load within ten minutes
4. Rolls-Royce has also installed gas turbines and gas compressors on gas pipelines in Belgium including four of the highest pressure pipeline compressors operating anywhere in the world. Installed at Zeebrugge on the western coast of the country they increase the flow of gas into the UK from Continental Europe
5. Rolls-Royce invests over ?800 million on research and development, two thirds of which has the objective of reducing the environmental impact of its products. The primary technology investment area is aimed at reducing noise and emissions.
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