By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Toshiba Corporation has won a major order to supply a flash steam turbine system and generator (STG) for Unit 2 of the Kizildere III Geothermal Power Plant in Turkey.
Zorlu Energy, an independent power producer and member of Turkey’s Zorlu Energy Group, will construct the plant in Kizildere, in the Aydin province of West Anatolia, Turkey.
Toshiba will deliver the generation equipment in July 2017. Support for this major low-emission project will allow Toshiba to expand its green footprint in Turkey and support Turkey in deploying low-carbon power solutions.
Energy consumption in Turkey is growing fast, driven by population growth and economic development, and both the government and the private sector are promoting projects to increase capacity.
Toshiba concluded a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Zorlu Energy Group in January this year, covering construction of geothermal, thermal and hydro power plants.
Toshiba and Zorlu Energy Group have successfully worked together on past projects, and will continue to cooperate in developing Turkey’s power sector under the scope of the MOU.
Kizildere III Geothermal Power Plant – Unit 2 is a 70,000 kW, high-efficiency triple flash combined-cycle geothermal power plant.
It will integrate two systems: an approximately 50,700 kW flash steam generation system driven by steam under high pressure; plus an approximately 19,300 kW binary cycle power generation system that uses flash turbine exhaust steam to vaporize a working fluid with a lower boiling point and use it to drive a turbine.
Toshiba delivered a flash power generation system for the Zorlu Energy Group’s Alasehir Geothermal Power Plant in 2014, its first in Turkey.
Following smooth progress in installation work and proving tests, the plant started commercial operation ahead of schedule, in September last year.
Following on from this, Toshiba received a further order for a flash power generation system for Kizildere III Geothermal Power Plant – Unit 1 Geothermal Power Plant in 2015, and the company is now manufacturing the STG.
Toshiba’s performance to date had been highly evaluated by Zorlu Energy Group, resulting in this third order to supply a flash steam turbine and generator for this project.
Toshiba has now won three of Turkey’s last four contracts for geothermal plants, and this order will increase the company’s share in Turkey’s market for geothermal flash STGs to 48%.
Commenting on the contract, Mr Takao Konishi, Vice President of the Thermal & Hydro Power Systems & Services Division in Toshiba’s Energy Systems & Solutions Company said, “Geothermal power is an attractive solution in promoting environmentally friendly, low-emission power generation, and we are pleased to build on earlier projects and extend our green footprint in Turkey.
This new order is a testimony to customer trust in the reliability and performance of our cost-competitive products. Toshiba will continue to promote high-efficiency STGs for geothermal plants in Turkey, East Africa, South America and other promising markets, where electricity demand is expected to increase in the future.”
Toshiba is strongly focused on expanding its geothermal STG business, promoting a strategic collaboration agreement (SCA) with US-based Ormat Technologies, Inc., a maker of binary systems, and is also utilizing a range of assistance measures, including financing by the Japanese government under its “quality infrastructure export” policy.
Toshiba aims to expand the scope of its business beyond manufacturing to include operation and maintenance of geothermal power plants.
