GE to fund $700 million Saudi power plant

• 13 years ago (2010-10-04)
• Junior Isles

Middle East 310

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GE Energy has signed agreements worth approximately $700 million to supply power generation equipment and long-term services for a new gas-fired, independent power plant that will help Saudi Arabia, the Middle East's largest economy, meet a growing need for residential and industrial power.

According to Saudi Electricity Company (SEC), Saudi Arabia's demand for reliable electricity is increasing at a rate of 8 percent a year. The new project, Riyadh PP11, is located at Dhuruma and will add nearly 1730 MW of power to SEC's grid. This will constitute 15 percent of the power generation capacity in Saudi Arabia's central region.

Saudi Arabia, which has an installed capacity of 44 000 MW, is expected to need about 70 000 MW of power by the year 2020.

"As the first gas turbine independent power plant for SEC, the Riyadh PP11 project reflects our strategy to engage the private sector in the development of new power plants and to adopt innovative energy technology to increase the efficiency of our power production," said Eng. Ali Saleh al-Barrak, president and CEO of SEC.

To date, GE has more than 400 installations at SEC sites throughout the country, providing the Kingdom with over 20 000 MW of power.

The first phase of the project, totaling 788 megawatts, is scheduled to enter commercial operation in mid 2012, while the second phase, totaling 941 megawatts, is scheduled to enter full operation by mid 2013.