BRIGHT OUTLOOK FOR NATURAL GAS
GE aims to support govt’s renewable energy aspiration with affordable and reliable ‘green’ turbines
GENERAL Electric Company (GE) believes that gas-fired power generation can complement renewable energy, following the government’s aspiration to increase the use of green energy in Malaysia.
GE Gas Power Asia Pacific operations president Jim Vono said the original equipment manufacturer was installing its gas technology at two sites in Johor and Melaka.
“We are installing 9HA.02 gas turbines — the largest 50 Hz gas turbine currently available in the industry — for the combined cycle power plants.
“We expect to start operations by 2022,” he told the New Straits
Times, here, last week.
In Johor, GE Power Services Business, a GE subsidiary, has signed a 21-year agreement with Southern Power Generation Sdn Bhd (SPG) for a new Track 4A, 1,440-megawatt combined-cycle power plant in Pasir Gudang.
Under the terms of the agreement, GE will provide services solutions for the first two GE 9HA.02 gas turbines to be installed in the country.
It will also deploy its Predix Asset Performance Management software to help improve asset visibility, reliability and availability of the SPG plant.
“Malaysia’s gas power generation accounts for a total of 30 gigawatt (GW), and GE supplies about 14GW.
“Natural gas is projected to eventually become the largest energy source, surpassing even nuclear,” said Vono.
Malaysia’s current power capacity is about 37GW and is expected to grow to 53GW over the next 10 years.
At present, coal and natural gas contribute almost equally to the national power generation mix.
Meanwhile, GE Gas Power chief executive officer Scott Strazik said natural gas-fired power generation continued to play a vital role in its cleaner energy future.
“Access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy is critical to grow economies and is fundamental to the quality of life in the modern world,” he added.
According to the International Energy Agency projection, total global electricity demand would rise by nearly 60 per cent through 2040.
“Over the next decade, and for the first time in history, natural gas-fired power generation capacity is forecast to increase more than any other fossil fuel source,” said Strazik.
“As the energy landscape transforms, natural gas is a great complement to intermittent renewable sources.”