Control system for combined cycle power plant!

Yokogawa  (Korea) has won an order from Samsung C&T Corporation to supply control systems for the Rabigh 2 combined cycle power plant, which is being built in Rabigh on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast. Plants of this type rely on both gas and steam turbines to generate electricity. The exhaust heat from a gas turbine is used to generate steam, which is sent to a steam turbine to generate additional electricity.

This power plant will have three 700 MW combined cycle power units with gas turbines, giving it a total capacity of 2,100 MW. The plant is being built for Al Mourjan For Electricity Production Company, whose shareholders are the Saudi Electricity Company (50%) and a consortium (50%) consisting of Samsung C&T Corporation and ACWA Power International, an independent power producer. The plant is scheduled to start operation in June 2017.

For this project, Yokogawa will deliver a CENTUM® VP integrated production control system for the monitoring and operation of all plant facilities, including the gas turbines, exhaust-heat-recovery boilers, and steam turbines, and for the control of the exhaust-heat-recovery boilers. The company will be responsible for engineering, and will also provide support for installation, commissioning, and operator training. This system is scheduled to be delivered by the middle of next year.

The winning of this control system order can be attributed to Yokogawa's solid track record in providing control systems to the power industry, including over 100 systems for combined cycle power plants, and to the strong engineering capabilities of Yokogawa Electric Korea. An additional contributing factor was the company's excellent customer support network in Saudi Arabia.

Combined cycle power plants generate power more efficiently and emit fewer greenhouse gases than conventional thermal power plants that use only gas or steam turbines. Power utilities all over the world are planning to construct plants of this type at sites that have ready access to natural gas. Encouraged by its success in winning this order, Yokogawa plans to expand its control business in the power sector, including the combined cycle power plant segment.