Saudi Electricity Company and GE Power sign research agreements

• 7 years ago (2017-10-30)
• David Flin

Gas 393 Middle East 326

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The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) and GE Power have signed two technical agreements to promote R&D for the power sector in Saudi Arabia. The collaborations will identify solutions to develop and install new systems that will boost gas turbine efficiency and productivity. The research will also focus on reducing the amount of ash that results from fuel combustion.

Khalid Al-Rashed, Executive Vice President of Engineering and Projects for SEC, said: “The first agreement aims to promote research that will help reduce the cost of power generation and power plant maintenance. The second will focus on installing a new system of fuel additives in gas turbines to reduce the water-washing cycle and increase capacity by reducing the amount of ash that results from fuel consumption during the power generation process.”

The two agreements are part of SEC’s ongoing collaboration with GE to promote R&D in the power generation sector.

Hisham Albahkali, President and CEO of GE Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, said: “We have a long-term relationship with SEC, and we are committed to further strengthening it through these technical collaboration agreements. The focus on localised R&D to enhance the efficiency and productivity of the power sector supports the goals of Saudi Vision 2030.”

GE and SEC have long supported the development of Saudi Arabia’s power generation sector. In 2016, GE and SEC inaugurated the Saudi PowerGen Efficiency Centre (SPEC) for gas and steam turbines, which is operated by SEC across its power plants. SEC has also established a Generation and Optimisation Centre (GOC) equipped with GE’s digital solutions to monitor, analyse, and enhance the reliability and efficiency of 16 power plants, which together represent more than 70 per cent of SEC’s total power generation.