Sorgenia Turns To GE To Digitize Gas Power Plant Fleet

GE Power said its hardware and software technologies are being used to make Italy’s Termoli combined-cycle power plant more efficient, reliable and flexible.

The company also announced that Sorgenia Power S.p.A., the operator of the 765 MW plant, extended the existing multiyear agreement through 2031, ensuring GE will provide Sorgenia with key maintenance and services support to meet its long-term goals.

“In Italy’s current energy landscape, combined-cycle power generation is being challenged due to the increasing share of renewables and in parallel, by the evolution of power markets that made the activities of sector operators more complex and intricate, particularly in the field of energy and risk management,” said Claudio Moscardini, power generation and energy management director, Sorgenia Power S.p.A. “GE has maintained our Termoli gas turbines since the first firing in 2006. When we determined that our plant needed further upgrades, it was a natural and logical step to choose GE, as they have been a trusted and reliable part of our operations for many years.”

Located in Termoli, on Italy’s Adriatic coast, the power plant will use data analytics to improve fleet performance and make smarter operational decisions. GE’s digital solutions, including its Predix Asset Performance Management (APM), Operational Performance Excellence, Efficiency Optimizer, OpFlex advanced controls and Mark VIe solutions will help make the plant more competitive in this changing energy market. With these solutions, Sorgenia will strengthen its activities in energy trading and asset optimization to respond faster to a European energy framework marked by increasing liquidity and interconnection with the Italian market, GE Power said.

“With power production in Europe and in Italy becoming largely renewables driven, gas power generation will need to provide the necessary flexibility and efficiency to balance unpredictable renewables,” said Michael Rechsteiner, CEO of GE’s Power Services business in Europe. “We’re excited to continue our relationship with Sorgenia as they make digital and hardware enhancements to reinvent how they operate their assets. With GE’s solutions they’ll be able to react more quickly to market conditions while reducing operating costs, and we will provide Sorgenia with key services to help them meet their long-term goals for the next 12 years.”

In addition, GE will help increase efficiency up to 0.5% and improve plant reliability of the plant by installing a compressor package upgrade to withstand the significant increase of starts and stops connected with the demand evolution and continuous increase variability of renewable energy on the national grid.

Last week, GE announced that Italian utility A2A group is continuing modernize its power assets, deploying GE’s services, hardware and software solutions at four of its facilities in Piemonte, Lombardia and Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy.