OREANDA-NEWS. October 2, 2012. GE (NYSE: GE) today announced it will supply advanced gas turbine technology for a new 450-megawatt, combined-cycle power plant in the city of Stalowa Wola that will be the largest gas-fired project in Poland. It supports the government’s strategy to diversify the energy supply for Poland, which currently gets 95 percent of its electricity from coal-fired plants.

The announcement was made at a GE-sponsored event celebrating 20 years of GE presence in Poland. The event was attended by GE customers and contributors and Polish dignitaries. Lee Feinstein, U.S. ambassador to Poland, delivered the keynote address for the event.

GE will provide a Frame 9F 5-series gas turbine and generator to Abengoa, the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the Stalowa Wola project. Abengoa is an international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainable development in the energy and environment sectors. GE also has signed a separate contract with Abengoa to provide maintenance services for the plant for 12 years.

The new plant, located adjacent to an existing Stalowa Wola Power Station, is owned by Elektrocieplownia Stalowa Wola, a joint venture between TAURON, the second largest utility in Poland, and PGNiG, a state-owned national gas and oil company. The facility, located about 230 kilometers southeast of Warsaw, is expected to begin commercial service in May of 2015.

The new plant will have a capacity of 449 megawatts of electricity and 240 megawatts of thermal power for heating and will operate at a thermal efficiency of nearly 60 percent, making it one of Europe’s most efficient power plants. The plant’s carbon dioxide emissions will be about 50 percent lower than a similar-sized coal-fired plant.

“Poland estimates that it needs to add about 2.4 gigawatts of gas thermal capacity by the end of 2015 to reduce its reliance on coal-fired power,” said Nani Beccalli, GE president and CEO for Europe. “Projects such as Stalowa Wola are a step on the road to a cleaner, more diverse energy future for the country.”

“GE remains committed to supporting the growing and diverse energy needs of Poland as well as all of Eastern Europe with our latest and most efficient technology,” added Beccalli. “Using GE’s advanced 9F 5-series gas turbine technology, this project can help to highlight the growing role of natural gas as a cleaner energy source compared to coal.”

GE’s 9F 5-series technology helps customers meet their growing requirements for reliable and cost-effective power. An evolutionary step in GE’s F technology, the 9F 5-series is among the world's most advanced, air-cooled, 50-hertz gas turbines. To date, 9F technology has accumulated 11 million operating hours worldwide. Addressing the growing need for cleaner power, the Frame 9F 5-series gas turbines are equipped with GE's advanced, dry low NOx 2.6+ combustion systems to reduce carbon emissions.