Siemens is to supply seven SGT-800 industrial gas turbines and two Industrial Trent 60 gas turbines to Argentina.
The SGT-800 turbines were ordered by the independent Argentine energy producer Albanesi, while the aeroderivative Industrial Trent 60 machines were ordered by the international energy group SoEnergy.
The turbines will provide a combined electrical capacity of approximately 500 megawatts (MW) and “help fighting the electricity shortfall in Argentina” Siemens said.
The SGT-800 gas turbine “is extremely economical and efficient to operate in power generation and combined heat and power applications (CHP)” the company explained, adding “it is used in simple-cycle gas turbine power plants, combined cycle power plants as well as for CHP.”
Siemens will supply two SGT-800 to each of the power plants in Rio Cuarto and San Miguel de Tucuman in Argentina. Three of the turbines will be installed in the Argentine city of Ezeiza. The two aeroderivative turbines will generate electricity in the gas-fired power plants in El Salto and Rio Tercero.
The company will produce all seven SGT-800 turbines in its factory in Finspong, Sweden, and the two Industrial Trent 60 turbines in Mount Vernon, USA, and Montreal, Canada.
All machines “could meet a fast delivery schedule, which makes it possible to quickly provide new generation capacities for private homes and industry in Argentina” Siemens said.
The order “will also open up additional sales opportunities in an important growth market” commented José Aparicio, vice president for the sales region Latin America at Siemens power and gas. “The turbines' high economic efficiency and great operating flexibility as well as their good environmental balance sheet contributed to this success” he added.
“Power consumption in Argentina is growing at a rate of around six percent annually” Siemens stressed, adding that “to meet this growing demand, the country must invest extensively in new power plants.”
Along with wind and solar power plants, "Argentina is focusing primarily on gas-fired plants, which permit a high degree of operating flexibility and produce comparatively few CO2 emissions" it added.
The SGT-800, which was originally known under the product name GTX100, began development in 1994 and was launched in 1997. Initially, it had an electrical capacity of 43 MW and an electrical efficiency of 37 percent. Now it is available with different ratings up to an electrical capacity of 54 MW and an electrical efficiency of 39.1 percent.