Brestanica, 19 December (STA) - The Brestanica Thermal Power Plant (TEB) has received approval from the owner to start installing a new natural gas generator, which will stand by the newest, generator 6, which was launched in September as the first step in the replacement of three generators which have been in operation since 1975.
Having received the green light from Gen Energija, the power plant based in Brestanica in eastern Slovenia will put the new generator in the building housing generator 6, which has the capacity to hold one more generator.
The emerging generator 7 will cost around EUR 26.5m, and will operate in accordance with the needs of the Slovenian energy system, and will also operate commercially if prices are suitable, TEB announced on Wednesday.
The project is part of the plan to replace three natural gas generators which have been in operation since 1975, whose lifespan is nearing end despite regular maintenance and a relatively low number of working hours.
According to TEB director Tomislav Malgaj, their technology does not meet the newest environmental standards either.
Like in the latest generator, the core of the emerging generator will be a SGT 8000 natural gas turbine with the installed power of 53 megawatts, which can be brought to full capacity in only 13 minutes.
Martin Novšak of Gen Energija, the Slovenian owner of the Slovenian-Croatian-owned Krško Nuclear Power Plant (NEK), told the STA that the public procurement for the project would be launched by the end of the year, with completion scheduled for 2020.
Novšak added that overhauling two old generator would not be feasible, as it would cost at least EUR 20m, while the new ones would cost between EUR 24m and EUR 26m each. What is more, replacements could not be secured in the case of an overhaul.
TEB is a leading provider of systemic solutions of tertiary regulation in the Slovenian power supply system. It serves as a reserve provider in case of outages of large generators or other disturbances in the system, including for NEK.