GE Power has clinched the deal worth $60m to provide critical maintenance services for a period of 12 years for the 330 megawatts (MW) Thar Energy Limited (TEL) Power Plant in Pakistan.
Pakistan has about 180 billion tons of lignite reserves and GE’s technology can help the country use this indigenous resource instead of importing more expensive fuels. GE will provide Circulating Fluidized Bed (CFB) boiler and its steam turbine generator technology for the TEL Power Plant. Thar lignite coal contains up to 50 percent moisture and low ash content, making it significantly challenging to burn reliably. GE’s boiler technology has been a preferred technology-of-choice on Thar lignite fired power plants because of GE’s successful track record of burning similarly challenging fuels in Europe and North America.
Globally GE’s steam turbines equip up to 30 percent of coal-fired steam power plants and 50 percent of the world’s nuclear power plants. Today, GE-built technologies in Pakistan can generate the equivalent power needed to supply up to 30 percent of the country’s electricity.
Sarim Sheikh, President and CEO of GE Pakistan and Central Asia said “Coal is a vital part of the energy mix in Pakistan. The TEL project will generate up to 330MW to help the country bridge the gap between electricity demand and available supply, reiterating our commitment to support the development of Pakistan’s power sector.
