#electrisity

GE is supplying its efficient USC technology, including boiler islands, the turbine islands, air quality control systems as well as balance of plant. What does ultra-supercritical mean in concrete terms?  It means that coal is burnt producing very high steam parameters, namely 600°C steam temperature and 250 bar steam pressure thus increasing the plant efficiency up to 46 % and reducing therefore the amount of coal by 20 % compared to conventional coal-fired power plants.

The USC and advanced steam turbine technology at Opole is the same as that driving the world’s most efficient coal-fired steam power plant in Germany’s RDK8 facility.

The use of ultra-supercritical technology will enable the Opole plant owner PGE to reduce its environmental impact and meet regulatory requirements. This is particularly important in Poland, where around 84 % of fuel for electricity generation is coal or lignite.

Key components of the plant, like steam turbines and generators, were designed and manufactured at GE’s factories in Elblag and Wroclaw. With GE localization strategy, the Polish content of the overall Opole project reaches 70 %.

By the way, the order for the latest USC coal plant in Poland – Ostroleka C – was also placed with GE. When the 6 billion zloty (approximately $1.5 billion) Ostroleka C plant comes online in 2023, it will deliver 1,000 MW.

It will also use USC equipment that will boost the plant’s efficiency by more than a third compared to the average coal plant, from 33 to also 46 %. It allows the plant to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 26 % MW generated, compared to the global average.

Coming back to Opole … GE is responsible for the overall project management and general design of the whole EPC (Engineering – Procurement – Construction) project as well as delivery of technology for both units as well as commissioning and supports the consortium members – Polimex-Mostostal, Rafako and Mostostal Warszawa - in their scope of work ..