Second EGAT plant on line in Chana

I didn't see anything about it in the English media, but another major infrastructure project went on line yesterday: Egat's Chana 2 Natural Gas power plant. I remember all the brouhaha when they made the first one, but this one seems to have gone through with little opposition,

A press release here:

Siemens (NYSE: SI), together with its Japanese partner Marubeni, has erected turnkey the combined cycle power plant Chana 2 in Thailand and handed it over into commercial operation to the national power provider Electric Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT). The natural-gas-fired Chana 2 plant consists of two units in a single-shaft configuration. With a total electrical capacity of around 800 megawatts (MW) and an efficiency of 57.3 percent, Chana 2 is one of the most efficient and environmentally friendly power plants in Southeast Asia.

Chana is located in the Songkhla province in the south of Thailand. In 2008, a consortium consisting of Siemens and Marubeni erected the Chana 1 multi-shaft combined cycle plant. Now, two further combined cycle units have been added to the site. They are constructed on the basis of the Siemens single-shaft concept, in which the major components (gas turbine, generator and steam turbine) are arranged in one single train. These types of plants stand out thanks to their high level of efficiency, their short startup times and their flexibility in accommodating fast load changes. Chana 1 and 2 combined will supply around 1500 MW to the power grid in southern Thailand.

Siemens supplied the major components, consisting of a model SGT5-4000F gas turbine, an SST5-3000 series steam turbine and a model SGen5-2000H generator for each of the two units at Chana 2. Also included in the scope of supply was the overall electrical system, the SPPA-T3000 I&C system, along with the ancillary and auxiliary systems. The Japanese partner Marubeni was responsible for supply of the heat recovery steam generator, the main transformers, the outdoor switchgear system and the cooling tower and for erection and installation of the overall plant.

"We are pleased to hand over the two units of Chana 2, the first single-shaft power units for EGAT, in commercial operation after only a few weeks following the very successful and on-schedule completion of our multi-shaft combined cycle project Wang Noi 4, thanks to the excellent cooperation with Marubeni and EGAT", declared Lothar Balling, head of Project Management at the Power Generation Division of Siemens Energy.

"Chana 2 marks the second plant erected by Siemens and Marubeni that has gone online this year, enabling us to respond in good time to the high electricity demand in the south of our country", stated Khun Ratanachai Namwong, Deputy Governor, Power Plant Development at EGAT. "We now have one multi-shaft and two single-shaft plants from Siemens at the Chana site. This provides us with a high degree of flexibility to react optimally to grid requirements.