Alstom consortium in Supercritical plant

Alstom, in consortium with Marubeni Corporation, has signed an agreement with the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) to supply and build the new unit at Mae Moh power plant. The total amount of the contract is €950 million in total, with Alstom’s share of the contract worth approximately €520 million. The contract will be carried out on an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) basis.

The company said this new unit will replace existing units 4-7 and will make Mae Moh the first lignite-fired power plant in Asia operating with ultra-supercritical conditions. Upon its completion in 2018, the unit is to produce 600 MW of electricity with atmospheric emissions reduced to meet regulations.

Alstom will supply the ultra-supercritical boiler with integrated Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) of NOx; an ultra–supercritical steam turbine and generator; the air quality control systems, composed of a Wet Flue Gas Desulphurization (WFGD) system enabling reduction of sulphur oxides by more than 98%; and Electrostatic Precipitators (ESP) designed to capture particulate and dust emissions, with an efficiency of more than 99.9%.

While existing units in the Mae Moh Power Plant were all originally equipped with Alstom boilers, the new unit will operate at ultra-supercritical conditions, which leads to a higher overall plant efficiency, an improvement of close to 20% in the heat rate compared to the current specifications, increased power output, and a reduction of more than 20% in CO2 emissions per unit of fuel burned compared to current installations, said the company.