GE Renewable Energy has been chosen to supply three bulb turbine-generators for the Chicoasén II project in Mexico. The Latin American consortium comprising Omega Construcciones Industriales, Sinohydro Costa Rica, Caabsa Infraestructura, and Desarrollo y Construcciones Urbanas made the decision about the hydro plant which belongs to the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE). The consortium will be led by the Sinohydro group and the CFE (who will also operate the power plant).
Chicoasén II will be the fifth hydropower plant sourcing its flow from the Grijalva River and will help to meet the growing energy requirements of South Western Mexico. The other power plants (Chicoasén I, Penitas, La Angostura and Malpaso) produce 54% of the country's hydroelectricity.
Supplying 80MW each, the bulb turbine-generators will have a total power output of 240MW, providing 591GWh/yr and directly benefiting 537,000 homes. The Chicoasén units will be the highest capacity bulb turbines-generators installed anywhere in the world to date.
"We are very happy to be part of the Comisión Federale de Electricidad's project to encourage and promote green power in Mexico. The Chicoasén II power plant will be the first facility in the world to be equipped with 80MW bulb turbines," said Yves Rannou, CEO of GE's hydro business.
The three bulb turbine-generators will be supplied by GE's hydro facility in Tianjin, China. Under the contract, GE is responsible for the equipment design, manufacturing, as well as providing technical field advisor and experts on site.
This contract is the fourth project GE's hydro facility in China will execute with Sinohydro after signing the Karuma Project in Uganda earlier this year.
