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COMMERCIAL FEATURE
Mobile gas turbines
bridging the power gap
By Ranjit Singh, APR Energy Managing Director, Europe, Middle East and Africa.
P ower shortages are estimated
to cost the global economy over
US$500 trillion in lost gross
domestic product (GDP) each year. The
shortages exist in both emerging and
developed markets and are driven by
factors ranging from rapid economic
development and urbanisation in
emerging markets to advanced ageing of
power plants and infrastructure around
the world.
Many countries face critical electricity
shortages impacting economic growth,
political stability, and quality of life.
Unfortunately, new power plants often
take three to five years to construct,
and due to lack of accessible funding
and project sponsors, many new
permanent power projects cannot
break ground. Consequently, countries
endure blackouts and brownouts, and
in many cases, provide no power at all
to their constituents, leaving industries
and private homes competing for the
inadequate supply of power available.
However, due to advancements in
mobile technology, there is a solution –
mobile aero-derivative turbines. Using
the same technology found in many
permanent power plants, these dual-fuel
turbines are rapidly transported by air,
land, or ocean and quickly installed to
deliver large blocks of power within days
or weeks, not years. Mobile turbine plants
are scalable from 25 MW to more than
400 MW, the equivalent of a conventional
power plant. They are used for a wide
variety of applications, including baseload
and peaking power generation, bridging
solutions, grid stability and support,
distributed generation, and dedicated
industrial generation.
While mobile power plants and
fast-track power have been around for a
number of years using diesel and natural
gas reciprocating engine technology, the
incorporation of mobile turbines for these
applications is a fairly new concept. The
highly power-dense and reliable units
can integrate into existing infrastructure
and operate on a semi-permanent basis,
with each unit producing the megawatt
equivalent of 15 to 20 reciprocating
126 A mobile
turbine power
plant in
Samnu, Libya, part
of APR
Energy’s 450 MW
solution in the
country. generators and using less than a third of
the land space.
Besides its compact footprint, a key
advantage of a mobile turbine solution
is the operational flexibility it brings,
with the ability to switch seamlessly
between diesel and natural gas. Mobile
turbines also produce only a fraction of
the NOx and other pollutants that diesel
reciprocating engines generate and
produce significantly less noise, making
them a good fit for environmentally
conscious customers and markets with
stringent regulatory controls.
As a result of these advantages,
mobile gas turbines are the fastest-
growing technology in the market for
interim and bridging power, growing from
virtually no share of the fast track power
market in 2010, to over 20% share in
2013. For projects of 100 MW and above,
mobile turbines now represent almost
40% of the market, a testament to their
advantages for larger-scale projects.*
APR Energy, the world’s leading
provider of fast track mobile turbine power
generation following its 2013 acquisition
of the GE power rental business, has
pioneered the use of mobile turbines
for fast-track power. Following Japan’s
devastating tsunami in 2011, APR Energy
provided 100 MW of mobile turbine power
capacity as part of an overall 203 MW
solution. In 2012, APR Energy provided
a 100 MW turbine solution to Uruguay,
expanding it by an additional 200 MW
in 2013. The mobile power solution now
covers 30% of the country’s backup
thermal generation, helping Uruguay
become self-sufficient in power production
for the first time in 15 years.
Mobile turbine technology has
most recently taken a foothold in Africa.
Using 12 mobile turbines, APR Energy
installed four mobile turbine power plants
in Libya in 2013. Despite a challenging
operational environment, the plants were
all installed and operational within four
to five months from contract signing and
generate 250 MW of output as part of an
overall 450 MW, six-plant project.
The technology has also made
its way to sub-Saharan Africa. The
government of Angola, which originally
contracted APR Energy for 40 MW of
capacity using reciprocating engine
generators in 2013, further expanded
the contract by an additional 40 MW of
mobile turbine power due to a need for
fuel flexibility and higher power output
from a smaller site.
With the power gap expected to
continue widening over the next several
years, customers are looking for larger
blocks of power that require less space,
offer fuel flexibility, are environmentally
friendly, and can integrate into their
existing facilities. ESI
* APR Energy analysis excluding BRIC countries.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Ranjit Singh has
worked globally in the
infrastructure sector in
various management
and finance related
roles. Prior to working
with APR Energy, he
was head of corporate
finance and treasurer
of Lebara Group
and worked as CFO for AES Africa Power
Corporation. ABOUT THE COMPANY:
APR Energy is the world’s leading fast-track
mobile turbine power business. Through its highly
mobile, turnkey power plants, APR Energy rapidly
delivers large-scale, reliable power to utility and
industrial customers around the globe, when and
where it is needed. For more information, visit the
company’s website at www.aprenergy.com.
ESI AFRICA ISSUE 1 2014