200 MW temp reserve power plant in Ireland

GE Gas Power will supply a 200 MW temporary reserve power plant in Ireland.

The new temporary reserve power plant will be powered by six GE LM2500XPRESS gas turbines that will help meet the electricity demand and help ensure stability of electricity supply in Ireland. It will be installed at ESB’s existing North Wall Power Plant in Dublin and is expected to provide backup power for the next three years’ winter seasons (2023-26).

Under the terms of the agreement, GE and MYTILINEOS will work together for the construction, and operation and and maintenance (O&M) of the plant.

The temporary reserve power plant installed in Dublin will have natural gas fuel capability and can operate on blends of hydrogen fuel in the future with relatively small modifications to further reduce carbon emissions and lead to lower-emitting footprint for the plant. The Dry Low Emissions (DLE) combustor configuration allows up to 35-50% by volume of hydrogen when blended with natural gas, the company said.

The additional temporary emergency generation will not be available to the open electricity marketplace; instead, it will only be operated in the case of shortage of capacity, reaching power plant full production capacity in just minutes.

Six GE LM2500XPRESS aeroderivative gas turbines are expected to provide nearly 200 MW of fast emergency power at a site in Ireland. (Image: GE Gas Power)

“We’re excited to bring temporary power to ESB’s North Wall site before the 2023-24 winter peak demand season to help provide a reliable source of reserve power that will be a major contributor to mitigating the risk of power supply shortages,” said Joe Anis, president & CEO, Europe, Middle East & Africa, GE Gas Power. “We’re pleased to work on this project with MYTILINEOS, an internationally recognized leading constructor of large-scale energy projects with whom we have executed over sixty projects that provide grids in various countries with more than 1.5 GW of fast power using GE aeroderivative gas turbines. With them, we will provide a source of emergency power for the Irish electricity grid, and one whose emission levels can be reduced using blends of hydrogen fuel in the future.”

GE said the LM2500XPRESS is 95% factory assembled into simplified modules for faster and easier site installation. For plant operators who need power in just days, the LM2500XPRESS can be installed in as little as two weeks with a relatively small crew.

The compact LM2500XPRESS units for this project will be manufactured at GE Gas Power’s Manufacturing Excellence Center in Veresegyhaz, Hungary.