OREANDA-NEWS. Helping to meet Turkmenistan’s growing power requirements, GE (NYSE: GE) will provide its aeroderivative gas turbine technology to Зalэk Enerji, one of the leading energy companies established in Turkey. Three power plants will be built at the Akhal, Mary and Lebap sites as part of a 360-megawatt fast-track project, with the Akhal and Mary sites expected to enter commercial service by the end of 2013 and Lebap to follow in February 2014.

According to the International Energy Agency, natural gas plays a significant role in Turkmenistan’s overall energy consumption with roughly one-third of the country’s gas fueling power generation while another third helps to operate the gas industry’s upstream and processing sector. However, the country faces challenges in bringing those reserves to the rest of the world because of geographical challenges and insufficient export pipeline infrastructure[1]. As a result, Turkmenistan is a good fit for distributed power projects such as the ones at the Akhal, Mary and Lebap sites, which will provide on-site power quickly and help avoid energy shortages in the country.

“As demand for power grows throughout Turkmenistan, we wanted to ensure that our customers continue to receive power in a timely manner and that social and living conditions in towns, villages and settlements improve thanks to additional power plants and the electrification of all regions of the country, including the most remote ones. Therefore, we chose to build three power plants, bringing 240 megawatts to Turkmenistan within six months and a total of 360 megawatts by early 2014,” said Saim Dinc, CEO for Зalэk Enerji. “We feel that by using GE’s flexible, efficient, proven aeroderivative gas turbines for our new plants, we will be able to help meet those needs quickly and cost-effectively.”

GE will provide nine of its ecomagination qualified LM6000 aeroderivative gas turbines to Зalэk Enerji, the Turkish engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm handling this project. The Akhal site, located near Ashgabat, will feature two LM6000-PF units and one LM6000-PC unit; the Mary site, located in the city of Mary, will feature three LM6000-PC units; and the Lehab site, located in Turkmenabat, will feature three LM6000-PF aeroderivative gas turbines.

“As the first project in Turkmenistan using our aeroderivative technology to produce power in power plants, Зalэk Enerji is leading the way in helping to address the increasing power demands in the country using proven technology, ” said Darryl Wilson, vice president and chief commercial officer—distributed power for GE Power & Water. “The flexibility, fast-start capabilities and overall performance of our LM6000 units will help provide reliable on-site power for the region.”