ERLANGEN, Germany (April 30, 2015) – Siemens, together with its South Korean customer POSCO Energy & Construction, have completed the Incheon LNG CCPP 7, 8 and 9 combined cycle power plant units. These units were erected at the existing site in Incheon, around 30 kilometers west of Seoul. Units 7 and 8 were completed on July 30, 2014 and October 21, 2014 respectively, while unit 9 went online on January 17, 2015. This enabled the overall plant to take up commercial operation six weeks ahead of the scheduled completion date; the first unit after a construction period of only 22 months. The plants are operated by POSCO Energy.
Equipped with the latest H-class technology and with a total installed electrical capacity of 1262 megawatts (MWel) and a net efficiency of 60 percent, this plant was again listed among the country's top power plants.
Each of the natural-gas-fired units has an installed gross electrical capacity of 420 megawatts (MW). The plants are designed for 250 starts per year and can power up to full load in only 30 minutes. Because of extremely limited space at the existing power plant site, Siemens designed the three units such that they could all be erected in one single building.
Siemens delivered three power islands, each consisting of an SGT6-8000H gas turbine, an SST6-5000 HI-L steam turbine, an SGen6-2000H generator, a triple-pressure Benson heat recovery steam generator with SCR and the SPPA-T3000 I&C system for the overall plant. The company was also responsible for the basic engineering and commissioned the components and the overall plant. POSCO E&C was responsible for the auxiliary systems, civil engineering, the electrical systems and the assembly and installation work for the site.
"With this project we are continuing our excellent relationship with POSCO Energy which has been ongoing in Korea since the 1990s. Thanks to the constructive cooperation between the Siemens and the POSCO teams, we were able to achieve a further milestone in South Korea and complete the overall plant considerably ahead of our agreed deadline so that it can now provide the country with electricity in the cold winter months," stated Lothar Balling, head of the Project Management business unit within the Siemens Power Generation Division.
"Siemens found a tailor-made solution for our special needs and implemented this in record time and with a high quality level," said Mr. Jinwon Park, managing director of POSCO Energy. "We are very pleased with Siemens' performance and the outstanding cooperation with the POSCO team throughout the entire project, and especially during project commissioning, which enabled us to operate the plant ahead of schedule."
To date, Siemens has sold 15 of the SGT6-8000H gas turbine models for eight projects in South Korea. This corresponds to an installed power generating capacity of 6.3 gigawatts (GW). Five projects (Bugok, Andong, Ansan, Daegu, POSCO) have now been completed, with the other three scheduled to take up operation in the course of 2016 and 2017.