(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 9. Azerbaijan is constructing the country's largest power plant since
independence, Trend says, citing Azerbaijan's Azerenergy electrical
power producer.
Work on the largest power plant of the independence period,
scheduled for completion in February 2023, is progressing
quickly.
The construction of a new 1,280 megawatt power plant on the land
of the Azerbaijan thermal power plant in Mingachevir is being
carried out by specialist Azerbaijani local enterprises.
The station's construction is overseen by the Italian AFRY
consulting firm and the Spanish IDOM design firm.
According to a representative of the AFRY consulting
company, Salih Turan, the work is currently being carried out
rapidly and is 2 months ahead of schedule.
"After the construction is completed, the installation
of equipment will continue," he said.
Gas turbines and generators made by the Italian
business Ansaldo Energia will be transported to Azerbaijan in the
future. The foundation and concreting of four gas turbines,
generators, and boilers has been finished. The construction of a
gas compressor and other structures, including metal structures, is
still ongoing.
Work is underway at a rapid pace to upgrade the
circulation pumps of water cooling systems, including cooling
pipelines, and to expand substations with a capacity of 500 and 330
kilovolts. Moreover, to increase overall efficiency, work is
underway to modernize the steam turbines of the 7th and 8th power
units of the Azerbaijan Thermal Power Plant in Mingachevir.
Major repairs and the integration of turbines,
generators, and other equipment weighing more than 100 tons into
the power plant under construction have been completed. Currently,
work has begun on replacing the auxiliary equipment with a new
one.
According to Teymur Abdullayev, Head of the Center for Public
Relations and Media of Azerenergy OJSC, the overall capacity will
be 1,880 megawatts following the connection of the new 1,280
megawatt power plant and the 7th and 8th power units of the
Azerbaijan Thermal Power Plant.
"As a result, efficiency will rise from 18 percent to 56
percent." The spent gas from the new 1,280 megawatt power plant
will be recycled and used to generate electricity in the steam
turbines of the 7th and 8th blocks of the Azerbaijan Thermal Power
Plant without the need for additional gas treatment. "Coordination
will allow us to save 800 million cubic meters of gas per year," he
said.
The construction of a new plant is especially
important in terms of increasing generating capacity, meeting
rising energy demand, expanding export opportunities, mitigating
the negative consequences of integrating renewable energy sources
into the energy system, saving natural gas in electricity
production, and creating new jobs in the region.
