Alstom has been awarded contracts worth over €100 million(1) to supply two GT13E2 gas turbines and Long Term Services for the Kelar combined-cycle power plant located in Mejillones, North of Chile.

The project will be implemented by Samsung Engineering on an engineering, procurement and construction basis (EPC).(2) The units are expected to be commissioned at the end of 2016.

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Kelar power plant will have a capacity of 517 MW and will supply the power needs of the mining activity of Minera Escondida and its associated activities, belonging to BHP Billiton. The gas turbines will be equipped with the latest development of Alstom’s new Advanced EnVironmental (AEV) burner which employs a new continuous fuel variation concept as the basis for more flexible and reliable operations. The burner also introduces emissions-compliant low-load operation, which enables operators to react to demand changes rapidly and reduce maintenance costs by reducing the frequency of plant shutdowns. The last totally new combined-cycle power plant in Chile was the Tocopilla project in 2000, which was completely built and supplied by Alstom.

“We are proud to see that the market has once again recognised our gas turbines as the most suitable for Chile’s conditions and operational needs. The mining activity needs a reliable, competitive and clean power supply that allows them to run 24/7 while supporting their expansion projects”, says Steve Meszaros, Senior Vice President Gas Business at Alstom.

With this project, Alstom reinforces its contribution to answering the energy needs of Chile, which asks for operational flexibility and clean power. Alstom also has the challenge of complying with stricter emissions regulations that are top of the agenda of every power plant owner in the country.

(1) The equipment contract was booked during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013/2014.

(2) The contract was awarded by BHP Billiton Chile, a subsidiary of the global Australian-British based mining company BHP Billiton through the Special Purpose Company (SPC) KELAR – a Korea Southern Power Co., Ltd (KOSPO) and Samsung C&T Corporation consortium.

Source: Alstom