GE To Add Gas Units at Polish Coal Plant
Polish power utility PGE has ordered two gas turbines from General Electric for its Dolna Odra coal-fired power plant in Poland's Western Pomerania region, the US supplier said on March 30.
The two GE 9HA.01 gas turbines are due online in 2023 and will have a combined capacity of 1.4 GW, providing enough power for 1mn Polish households. GE will also supply two steam turbines, two generators and two heat recovery steam generators.
The units will help lower the 1,832-MW coal plant's emissions, including CO2 by around 2-3mn mt/yr, while also stabilising the regional power grid, which relies heavily on wind farms. Neither GE nor PGE said how much of the plant's coal-fired capacity would remain after the gas turbines had been installed.
GE won the contract through a consortium that includes Poland's Polimex Mostostal. It will be responsible for engineering, procurement and construction of the new units as well as underground infrastructure. It has also secured a 12-year service agreement.
Polish energy policy has shifted towards gas in recent years and away from coal, which is used to provide around 80% of its electricity. The country plans to develop additional gas import infrastructure, including pipelines from Norway and Lithuania and an expansion at its sole LNG import terminal in Swinoujscie.
Highlighting the change in sentiment, state-owned utilities Enea and Energa had planned to build what was expected to be the last coal-fired power plant to be erected in Poland, the 1-GW Ostroleka C station. But now they reportedly want to revise the project to run on gas instead.