California, Sept. 16, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- • El Segundo Energy Center in California officially dedicated
• Two Flex-Plant™ combined cycle power islands from Siemens Energy
• 550 megawatts (MW) of efficient and flexible electricity
• 300 megawatts (MW) in less than 10 minutes
• Powering approximately 450,000 homes in California
NRG Energy Inc. and Siemens Energy Inc. dedicated the El Segundo Energy Center located near Los Angeles, California, on September 12th. This is the second Flex-Plant to open in California after the nation's first in Lodi, that went into commercial operation last year. Siemens Energy has supplied and commissioned the two Flex-Plant combined cycle power islands. The two units produce 550 megawatts (MW) of efficient and flexible electricity to the California grid - enough to supply power to approximately 450,000 homes.
See video from Siemens and Synaptic Digital: http://inr.synapticdigital.com/siemens/elsegundo
Owned and operated by NRG Energy, El Segundo Energy Center is an environmentally compatible, combined cycle solution for peaking and intermediate load. With the SGT6-5000F gas turbines as their main drivers, the two units can generate 300 megawatts (MW) in less than 10 minutes, allowing the plant to back up intermittent renewable power generation, such as wind and solar power, to maintain a steady, consistent and reliable supply of power to the grid. Compared to a traditional simple cycle plant, the Flex-Plant 10 has higher efficiency and lower emissions, which makes it a cleaner solution for peak to intermediate-duty cycles.
"NRG and the state of California today moved one step closer to realizing a greener future in California," said Martin Tartibi, Executive Vice President Energy Solutions Americas. "Siemens Flex Plant 10 technology, is on the leading edge of where power generation in America is going in the future - fast, flexible and environmentally friendly."
At the core of the Flex-Plant 10 is an SGT6-5000F gas turbine, integrated with a single-pressure, non-reheat bottoming cycle. Together with an air-cooled heat exchanger for steam condensing, the Flex-Plant 10 provides a net efficiency of nearly 49 percent, making it much higher in efficiency than conventional simple cycle solutions. This plant is also environmentally friendly, as compared to conventional combined cycle technology with a reduction of 95 percent of CO start up emissions and low water consumption. Additionally, the fast start capability makes it well suited to stabilize the grid and balance fluctuating renewable power generation.
In addition to having a small environmental footprint, the Flex-Plant 10 at El Segundo was optimized for the site size constraints. This also supported parallel demolition and construction efforts saving project schedule and cost.
For El Segundo, Siemens delivered two power islands - each featuring the main components, an SGT6-5000F gas turbine, an SST-800 steam turbine, an SGen6-1000A generator, an SGen6-100A-2P generator as well as a heat recovery steam generator and an air-cooled heat exchanger - along with the complete electrical equipment and the SPPA-T3000 power plant instrumentation and control system. Siemens also provided the engineering services and commissioning of the plant.
"Flex Plants with fast start technology are an environmentally friendly solution to seamlessly integrating renewable power into the grid. As a result of this project, the El Segundo Energy Center will be able to provide Californians with 550MW clean energy for decades to come," said John Chillemi, President of NRG Energy's West Region. "With Siemens as our partner, we were able to meet the challenges of permitting, constructing and operating in a highly populous and visible beach community in the South Bay Southern California area."
Contact for journalists:
Siemens AG, Media Relations
Claire Hassett, phone: 202-368-3854
E-mail: Claire.hassett@siemens.com
Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global powerhouse in electronics and electrical engineering, operating in the fields of industry, energy and healthcare as well as providing infrastructure solutions, primarily for cities and metropolitan areas. For over 165 years, Siemens has stood for technological excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality. The company is the world's largest provider of environmental technologies. Around 40 percent of its total revenue stems from green products and solutions. In fiscal 2012, which ended on September 30, 2012, revenue from continuing operations totaled €78.3 billion and income from continuing operations €5.2 billion. At the end of September 2012, Siemens had around 370,000 employees worldwide on the basis of continuing operations. Further information is available on the Internet at: http://www.siemens.com. Follow us on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/siemens_press.