GE Power recently announced that it will provide advanced boiler and steam turbine technology to power Pakistan’s first ultra-supercritical power plant in Deh Ghangiaro, Bin Qasim, Karachi. The project will add up to 660 megawatts of electricity to the national grid – the equivalent power needed to supply up to 1.3 million Pakistani homes and industries. The power plant will be constructed by SEPCOIII and is planned to commence commercial operations in 2021.
The Lucky Electric power project stands out as the first power plant located outside Thar district that will use lignite mined from the Sind Engro Coal Mining Company Mine at Thar Block II, in addition to imported lignite as back-up fuel. It is expected to set an example of how Thar coal can be transported over a distance and used reliably to produce power close to load centers.
The boilers will use Beater Wheel mills and proven coal preparation technology, which are essential to handling high-moisture lignite. GE’s advanced boilers will help generate low cost power efficiently and reliably from Thar lignite, which was long considered difficult to achieve because of the low calorific value and high moisture content of the fuel.
Over the last 100 years, GE has installed an impressive fleet of steam turbines globally. Its steam turbines equip 41% of the world’s combined-cycle plants, 30% of fossil power plants, and 50% of the world’s nuclear power plants. GE’s boilers make up about 30% of all boilers installed or under construction in power plants worldwide.
