GE: GE Awarded Contract to Boost Power Output of Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant

GE Energy’s (NYSE: GE) nuclear business has been awarded the contract to oversee and implement an extended power uprate (EPU) of the Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant in Minnesota, boosting the plant’s output to 120% of its original licensed thermal power. The contract is valued at more than $100 million.

The EPU contract was awarded by the plant’s operator, Nuclear Management Company, LLC of Hudson, Wisconsin, and represents GE’s largest extended power uprate order to date. The plant’s owner is Northern States Power Company, a subsidiary of Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy Inc.

Monticello, a one-unit, boiling water reactor (BWR), is rated at 613 megawatts (MW) and began commercial operation in June 1971. The plant is located 30 miles northwest of Minneapolis, Minnesota and generates enough electricity to meet the needs of more than 500,000 customers.

Upon completion of the EPU, the reactor’s output will be 684 MW. The multiphase uprate was launched in September 2006 and is scheduled to be finished in the spring of 2011.

EPUs typically require modifications and a modernization of major pieces of plant equipment including the high-pressure turbine, reactor feedwater and condensate pumps and motors, main generator and/or transformers.

Prior to the uprate, GE performed a comprehensive review of plant systems to determine which equipment needed to be replaced or upgraded for the plant to operate reliably and safely at the higher output levels.

“Monticello has already been operating at record-setting performance levels, both in terms of capacity factor and continuous days of service, and GE is excited to support Xcel Energy and Nuclear Management Company’s efforts to have the plant play an even greater role in addressing Minnesota’s energy needs in the decades to come,” said Andy White, president and CEO of GE Energy’s nuclear business.

The Monticello project is GE’s first major EPU contract that includes both managing and providing the plant engineering design and supply of the large balance of plant (BOP) equipment, representing a new growth area for GE Energy, White noted. Key selection criteria were GE’s BWR project experience, including plant upgrades, coupled with the breadth of GE Energy’s global sourcing and service capabilities.

The project will involve multiple GE products and services including the nuclear plant licensing, core fuel performance, steam turbine, generator, instrumentation and controls, transformers, and water chemistry.

A number of GE facilities will provide equipment and services, including:

High pressure turbine advance steam design path (ADSP), rotor technology and low pressure turbine diaphragms (Schenectady, N.Y. and Bangor, Maine).
Generator stator bars (parts – Schenectady, N.Y.; on-site shop work – Chicago, Ill. service center).
Generator field rewind (parts – Schenectady, N.Y.; off-site shop work – Chicago, Ill. or Minneapolis, Minn. service centers.)
Alterrex™ excitation system refurbishment (Peterborough, Ontario, Canada)
Main transformer (Bradenton, Fla.)
Turbine controls (Loveland, Colo.)
Power Range Neutron Monitoring (PRNM) – (Wilmington, N.C. / San Jose, Calif.).
GE is in the process of selecting companies to provide major BOP equipment and is in negotiations with a major architect-engineering company to support this significant project.

This EPU contract award follows the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s recent approval of a 20-year operating license extension for the Monticello plant, which will serve customers at its higher output level through 2030.

GE Energy’s nuclear business develops advanced light water reactors and provides a wide array of technology-based products and services to help owners of both boiling and pressurized water reactors safely operate their facilities with greater efficiency and output.

GE: GE’S Jenbacher Gen-Sets to Power South Africa’s First Landfill Methane Plants

South Africa’s first landfill methane gas-to energy projects, powered by GE Energy’s (NYSE: GE) Jenbacher generator sets, will be commissioned at two sites near the city of Durban on the country’s east coast in early 2007. The plants are in the municipal region of eThekwini, which in Zulu means “in the place of the bay.”

The plants, at the La Mercy and Mariannhill landfills, will serve as renewable energy reference projects, providing much-needed electricity to the municipal grid. Meanwhile, funds from the sale of carbon credits – which was the key to making the project economically viable –also will be used in part for community upgrades.

For the La Mercy and Mariannhill power plants, GE supplied two containerized gen-sets to the projects’ contractor, Envitech Solutions (Pty) Ltd of Benoni, South Africa. Envitech Solutions installed the Jenbacher units and gas extraction equipment on behalf of Durban Solid Waste (DSW), which operates the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality’s solid waste disposal and owns both landfill sites.

For La Mercy, Envitech Solutions installed a Jenbacher JGC 312 GS-L.L. gen-set and for Mariannhill, a JGC 320 GS-L.L. unit. Electrical output for the JGC 320 unit is 1,064 kW and 526 kW for the JGC 312 unit. Electrical efficiency for each unit is 40.8% and 39.1%, respectively.

By utilizing the landfills’ methane for energy, less of the gas will be able to escape into the atmosphere. Methane has 21 times the greenhouse warming potential of carbon dioxide, the greenhouse gas most closely identified with climate change. Along with greenhouse gas abatement, this eThekwini Metro project is expected to improve local air and groundwater quality.

“GE Energy is honored to provide the gas engine equipment for South Africa’s inaugural landfill energy projects and to support the country’s strong commitment to expanding the production and use of renewable energy,” said Prady Iyyanki, CEO of GE Energy’s Jenbacher gas engine business.

In 2006, GE announced its Jenbacher landfill gas technology – in addition to its biogas and coal mine gas solutions – had been certified as an ecomagination product. Ecomagination is GE’s commitment to address challenges such as the need for cleaner, more efficient sources of energy, reduced emissions and abundant sources of clean water.

For future projects, GE is well represented in the country through its regional equipment sales and service provider for Jenbacher gas engines, Agaricus Trading cc.

GE Energy’s Jenbacher gas engine business is a leading manufacturer of gas-fueled reciprocating engines, packaged generator sets and cogeneration systems for power generation. GE’s Jenbacher gas engines run on natural gas or a variety of specialty waste gases, including landfill gas.

About GE Energy

GE Energy (www.ge.com/energy ) is one of the world’s leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technologies, with 2005 revenue of $16.5 billion. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Energy works in all areas of the energy industry including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy; renewable resources such as water, wind, solar and biogas; and other alternative fuels.

Numerous GE Energy products are certified under ecomagination, GE’s corporate-wide initiative to aggressively bring to market new technologies that will help customers meet pressing environmental challenges.

As part of GE's ecomagination initiative GE Energy is constantly focusing on expanding the fuel capabilities of its equipment. GE's Jenbacher engines operating on waste gases provide environmental benefits while providing customers with a technology that can generate carbon credits in certain regions. GE's carbon monetization team provides assistance to our customers in assessing whether monetization opportunities are available to further reduce the operating cost of power generation.