Siemens Celebrates Placement of First Gas Turbines at Beni Suef

Siemens celebrated the arrival of four H-class gas turbines at the Beni Suef power plant in Egypt. Two of the 400 megawatt (MW) turbines alongside six 500 kilovolt (kV) generator transformers were placed on their foundations, marking an important milestone towards the commissioning of the plant – set to become the world’s biggest gas-fired combined-cycle power plant complex when completed.

Situated around 110 kilometers south of Cairo, the Beni Suef plant will start supplying its first electricity to the national energy grid as early as winter 2016/2017. To achieve that, it will initially be operated in so-called simple cycle mode. By subsequently adding heat exchangers and steam turbines it will be expanded into combined cycle mode reaching a total installed capacity of 4.8 gigawatts (GW). This is enough to supply around 15 million Egyptians with electricity.

Demonstrating the company’s commitment to a tight implementation schedule, a special ceremony was held by Siemens at the 500,000-square-meter Beni Suef site in the presence of the Egyptian Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Dr. Mohamed Shaker. The event was also attended by executives from ELSEWEDY ELECTRIC, Siemens’ construction partner for the plant; a host of customers and officials as well as Siemens global and regional executives.

“Today, we celebrate an important milestone in the modernization of Egypt’s energy infrastructure and I am sure that many other milestones will follow,” said Dr. Mohamed Shaker. “Egypt is undergoing economic transformation and as the country embarks on a series of ambitious infrastructure projects, efficient and reliable electricity will be essential to powering this development. The Beni Suef plant, alongside Siemens’ other power projects in the country, will definitely make an important contribution towards sustainable power supply in Egypt.”

With its local partners, Siemens will build a total of three natural gas-fired combined cycle power plants with a total capacity of 14.4 GW in Egypt. 4.4 GW of this power will be connected to the national grid in only 19 months – from signing to service – which is six months faster than the world benchmark.

“Egypt’s Sustainable Development Strategy outlines the need to provide affordable, reliable and modern energy services, boost energy efficiency and diversify the country’s energy mix,” said Willi Meixner, CEO of the Siemens Division Power & Gas. “We are proud to be part of this vision and to celebrate another step towards its realization today. Thanks to innovative technology, our energy projects in Egypt are set to transform the power landscape – we are setting the basis for industrial growth and job creation. On top of it, the world class efficiency of our turbines result in more than $1 billion in fuel savings annually.”

With the arrival of Egypt’s first H-class gas turbines, Siemens has launched its new branding campaign in Egypt and the Middle East, titled ‘Ingenuity for life’. This new claim represents the company’s commitment to sustainable development in the region, and illustrates how Siemens impacts people’s lives on a daily basis, through engineering, technology and smart-thinking, utilizing these strengths to add real value to society.

“Today’s milestone in Beni Suef is a perfect example of what we call ingenuity for life. With our engineering expertise, our power of innovation and local partners, we create long-term value and jobs for the people of Egypt – and beyond”, Dietmar Siersdorfer, CEO of Siemens Middle East, explained.

One important pillar in this context is to build a pipeline of Egyptian experts for these energy projects, Siemens started training the first batch of 600 Egyptian engineers and technicians last month. The move is part of the company’s commitment to building local expertise in Egypt’s energy industry, in collaboration with the Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy.