MHI Receives Successive GTCC Orders From Korea Western Power and Korea District Heating

The 750 MW (megawatt) GTCC plant for KOWEPO, which was ordered to an MHI/Marubeni Corporation consortium, will be installed at a new power station being built in Gunsan, a coastal city in Jeollabuk-do. Construction of the plant is under way in line with Korea's 3rd Basic Plan for Restructuring the Electricity Industry. Upon completion, the Gunsan GTCC power plant will provide the highest level of power generation efficiency in Korea.

The order for the GTCC power generation system for KDHC's Paju combined heat and power plant was received by MHI and three major Korean construction companies: Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. (Daewoo E&C), Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. (Hyundai E&C) and POSCO Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd. (POSCO E&C). The 515 MW Paju combined heat and power plant, which is to supply power and district heating, will be built in Paju-city, Gyeonggi-do, located northwest of Seoul. Upon its completion, the Paju plant will realize the highest level of thermal efficiency in Korea.

Each GTCC power plant will consist mainly of two gas turbines, one steam generator, one heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) and three generators. MHI will be responsible for manufacturing the gas and steam turbines, the key components of GTCC power plants. Mitsubishi Electric Corporation will supply the generators. Marubeni will provide steam condensers and other components (balance of the plant: BOP) for the KOWEPO plant, while Daewoo E&C, Hyundai E&C and POSCO E&C will take charge of construction, installation and HRSG procurement for the KDHC plant.

The gas turbines MHI will supply to the KOWEPO plant are its M501G, a high-efficiency, large- size advanced gas turbine. The order represents the first introduction of the M501G into Korea. The gas turbines for KDHC's Paju plant are the M501F.

KOWEPO is one of six companies that became independent from Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) in 2001. KOWEPO has a power generation capacity of 7,280 MW, equivalent to about 11% of Korea's total electricity output. In anticipation of expanding electricity demand in tandem with the country's economic growth, KOWEPO is planning to invest 1,000 billion won in the three years through 2009.

KDHC is a government-affiliated company that handles everything from planning to construction and management of cogeneration plants, including district heating systems (heat supply system and pipelines). In 2005, KDHC placed an order with MHI for its Hwaseong GTCC cogeneration plant.

With GTCC type power generation, gas and steam turbines are used in combination to generate electricity in two stages, utilizing high-temperature exhaust gas from the gas turbine. This configuration enables GTCC power plants to achieve higher thermal efficiency than non-GTCC plants such as conventional boiler steam turbine plants. Higher efficiency means that GTCC plants reduce fuel consumption relative to electricity output and emit less CO2, thus making them more environmentally friendly.

In Korea, several plans to introduce GTCC power generation systems are being considered due to the system's superiority with respect to environmental issues, energy conservation, reduction of CO2 emissions and economy. Riding on the wind of the latest orders, MHI will now further strengthen its marketing activities for these systems in Korea.