A giant gas turbine, the biggest in the UAE, has been moved by road from DP World?s Jebel Ali port and installed at Emirates Global Aluminium?s (EGA) Jebel Ali site in an overnight operation
The Siemens H-class gas turbine, weighing 457 tonnes and with a length of 13.5 metres, was transported the six kilometres from Jebel Ali port, using an oversized truck.
On arrival at EGA, the turbine was placed in its permanent location at the heart of a new US$270mn power block which will further improve the efficiency of EGA?s electricity generation.
The entire operation took around four hours over two days.
The new power block at EGA, which is being developed by JA Power & Water Co, a joint venture formed by Mubadala and Dubal Holding, will be the first in the global aluminium industry to use a Siemens H-class gas turbine for efficient power generation.
Dietmar Siersdorfer, CEO at Siemens for the Middle East and UAE, said, ?The EGA power plant will be the most efficient gas-fired facility in the UAE and will significantly lower emissions and strengthen the industry.?
Siemens looks forward to working hand-in-hand with the EGA, Mubadala and Dubal Holding teams to keep this power plant operating reliably and efficiently for the coming years, Siersdorfer added.
Set to lower greenhouse gas emissions by ten per cent
The new power block at EGA will have a generation capacity of more than 600MW of electricity and EGA intends to buy the output for 25 years following commissioning. It is expected to lower greenhouse gas emissions from EGA's power-generation and aluminium-smelting operations at Jebel Ali by around ten per cent, while NOx emissions are expected to decrease by as much as 58 per cent. NOx, which is emitted by motor vehicles, is amongst a group of emissions targeted for reductions under ?UAE Vision 2021? to improve local air quality.
The H-class turbine was built by Siemens in Berlin and was shipped to the UAE by sea.
Once the new power block is fully operational, five older, smaller and less efficient turbines at EGA?s Jebel Ali site will be put on standby for use only in emergencies.
