Construction of a combined cycle power plant for the Italian utility EP Produzione
Efficient HL-class gas turbines will help to significantly reduce CO2 emissions
Combined cycle power plants will no longer use river water as a cooling medium
Siemens Energy will undertake a turnkey project for a combined cycle power plant in the town of Ostilla in Lombardy, Italy. Compared with conventional gas and coal power plants, this advanced combined cycle power plant will operate more efficiently and emit less CO2, which will make a positive contribution to local emission reduction. At the same time, the plant will also be able to effectively balance the grid fluctuations caused by renewable energy sources such as wind power and solar power. Siemens Energy will work with the Italian General Contractor for Engineering (EPC) Fata S.p.A. Form a consortium with Demont s.r.l. to be responsible for project implementation. The new plant is owned and operated by the Italian utility EP Produzione.

The combined cycle power plant will use Siemens Energy’s HL-class gas turbines. This type of gas turbine not only has high power generation efficiency, can maximize the use of natural gas, and has extremely high operational flexibility, but also can achieve up to 30% hydrogen-doped combustion in the future. With an installed capacity of 880 megawatts, the project is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2025 and can meet the electricity needs of 500,000 households when it is put into operation.

The plant also uses air condenser (ACC) technology, so it does not need to draw water from the nearby Po River for cooling, which helps to protect the local environment and ensure the reliable operation of the plant. In addition, the plant’s nox emission concentration can be maintained at an excellent level of less than 10 mg per standard cubic meter, the operation range is wide and flexible, and the fuel consumption level is low, thus becoming a new benchmark in the field of local sustainable development and environmental protection.

Karim Amin, member of the Executive Committee of Siemens Energy AG, said: “Siemens Energy’s HL-class gas turbines will make an important contribution to the success of the energy transition in Italy and around the world. Efficient and flexible gas-fired power plants are needed in the existing energy mix to rapidly increase generating capacity and compensate for intermittent fluctuations in renewables. In addition, our gas turbines can operate with hydrogen, which will be one of the key elements of sustainable energy development in the future.”

The core of the combined cycle power plant design is a multi-axis combined cycle unit with a gas turbine and a steam turbine each driving a generator. Siemens Energy’s scope of supply includes one SGT5-9000HL gas turbine, one SGen5-3000W gas turbine generator, one SST5-5000 steam turbine, one SGen5-1200A steam generator, one waste heat boiler and the T3000 control system. Siemens Energy will also provide long-term maintenance services for the core components of the power plant.