GE offers high efficiency gas turbine tech to ease nagging energy crisis

News Desk :
GE Gas Power, a world leader in natural gas power technology, services and solutions, is focused to generate electricity that is reliable, affordable and sustainable for the people in Bangladesh, said a senior official of the company.
The company is confident that its highly efficient and record setting gas turbine technology is a suitable fit to replace old and inefficient power generation units in Bangladesh, thus offering increased power output with lowest cost of electricity, reports UNB.
“In Bangladesh, we are offering our latest and most advanced gas turbines that would reduce the overall generation cost to a single digit, despite using imported LNG as fuel”, said Deepesh Nanda, the Chief Executive Officer of GE Gas Power for the South Asia region, in an exclusive interview with UNB.
He said that Bangladesh has set a target to supply uninterrupted electricity to the people at an affordable cost with highest reliability.
“We’re ready to take the challenge as GE Gas Power’s 9HA.02 gas turbine can generate electricity at more than 64 percent net efficiency in combined-cycle mode while Bangladesh’s average efficiency level is 47 percent”, said the GE top official.
GE has been engaged in Bangladesh for more than 40 years now and has its presence in most of the gas-based power stations that use GE’s gas turbines and other power generation equipment.
At present, the portfolio of 38 GE gas turbines is capable of generating more than about 3 GW of electricity.
Not only as an equipment supplier, but GE Gas Power is also making significant contributions to the country’s power and gas sectors.  
“We invested as an equity partner in the 341 MW Summit Bibiyana power plant, 335 MW Summit Meghnaghat Power Plant and also partnered with other key players in the sector,” Deepesh said.
GE had invested in Summit’s FSRU (floating storage and regasification unit) in Moheshkhali of Cox’s Bazar.
“Now we’re planning to increase our presence further across the Bangladesh market through foreign direct investment (FDI) while keeping the focus on transforming the power sector.” he said.
Referring to GE’s own analysis on Bangladesh’s power sector he said that as per our estimates for using HFO (furnace oil) vs. Coal vs. LNG as a fuel in power generation – the cost of electricity by using HFO is Tk 16-15 per kilowatt hour (each unit) while coal costs Tk 12 and gas Tk 9.7 per kWh.
There is a significant gap between the cost for using HFO and gas.
“The government did a remarkable job in ensuring energy security and using HFO-based engine plants for power generation”, he said adding that as the fuel prices went up, engine plants saved the day.
However, the LNG costs $13 per mmbtu under the contracts with Qatar and Oman and by using this LNG to generate electricity the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) would be Tk 9.7 per unit.