OREANDA-NEWS.  February 3, 2012. Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO: 6502), one of the world's leading suppliers of thermal power generation equipment, today announced that it has been selected to supply thermal power generation equipment for 264 CC Centro, a major power plant project in Mexico. Under the terms of the contract, Toshiba will supply Abener Energнa S.A., a subsidiary of Abengoa, the Spanish energy and environmental technology company, with a high-efficiency 242MW steam turbine and generator for a natural-gas fired combined cycle power plant in Morelos state, South-Central Mexico.

Comisiуn Federal de Electricidad (CFE), Mexico's state-owned electricity utility, is developing a 640MW combined-cycle power plant in Morelos and has awarded Abener a full turnkey contract for the project. Abener selected Toshiba to supply the steam turbine and generator for the power plant on the basis of the company's comprehensive capabilities and its extensive experience in Mexico. Equipment supply from Toshiba is scheduled to start in May 2013 and the plant is expected to start operation later in the same year.

Mexico currently uses thermal power to generate most of its electricity, approximately 80% in total. This is expected to continue well into the future, as Mexico has the world's fourth largest confirmed reserves of shale gas. In coming years, these reserves will support Mexico securing energy independence and support investments in advanced, combined-cycle power plants.

Toshiba is an established presence in the North American thermal power steam turbine market, and has a reputation for advanced technical capabilities and competitive and reliable delivery and equipment operation. In the United States and Canada, Toshiba has been the market leader in orders received for the last eight years and has supplied over 90 units. Total orders are expected to surpass 100 by 2014, following a recent upturn in orders for combined cycle thermal power plants. In Mexico, too, Toshiba is a major player. Since entering the market in 1973, the company has delivered 22 steam turbine generators, including equipment for geo-thermal plants and the Valladolid combined-cycle project.