GE Vernova secures eight-unit aeroderivative order

GE Vernova’s Gas Power business said it would supply, operate and maintain a simple cycle power plant for the Electricity Supply Board of Ireland’s (ESB) facility in Shannonbridge, County Offaly, Ireland.

The plant is a new temporary reserve power plant designed to deliver up to 264 MW to support the security and reliability of electricity supply in Ireland and will incorporate eight GE LM2500XPRESS aeroderivative gas turbines. The Shannonbridge Power Plant is being constructed in central Ireland and is expected to start operation during the 2023-2024 winter season and serve as a reserve power plant through to the end of the 2026-2027 winter season.

GE Vernova’s Gas Power business (NYSE: GE) today announced orders for both the supply and the operation and maintenance activities of a simple cycle power plant consisting of eight GE LM2500XPRESS aeroderivative gas turbines from the Electricity Supply Board of Ireland (ESB) for their facility in Shannonbridge, County Offaly, Ireland. (Image: GE Vernova)

This project follows GE’s recently announced 200 MW emergency power plant construction project at North Wall in the Dublin area. Similar to ESB’s North Wall Power Plant, which is powered by six GE LM2500XPRESS, the Shannonbridge Power Plant will not be available to the open electricity marketplace; instead, this project will only be operated against a specific instruction to support the Irish grid when needed.

The Shannonbridge Power Plant deal includes a 3-year Operations and Maintenance (O&M) service agreement with GE which includes operation, repairs and scheduled maintenance on the simple cycle power plant. The plant is being constructed within the site boundary of a decommissioned older power plant facility, and is designed to provide flexible, quick start-up emergency power that helps to ensure a reliable source of temporary power and thereby reduces the risk of power supply shortages over the operating term.

“Emergency power plants, like Shannonbridge and North Wall, need to start quickly and run when electricity demand is high and generation capacity from other sources available on the system is at risk of not meeting demand,” said Joseph Anis, president & CEO, Europe, Middle East & Africa, GE Vernova’s Gas Power business. “We’re proud to continue to work with ESB and to be bringing one of the best and most efficient aeroderivative packages and O&M services at the Shannonbridge Power Plant and contribute to the security of Ireland’s electricity supply.”

At the core of the LM2500XPRESS units powering the Shannonbridge Power Plant is GE’s LM2500 aeroderivative gas turbine technology. The LM2500XPRESS is 95% factory assembled into simplified modules for faster and easier site installation. The compact LM2500XPRESS units for this project will be manufactured at GE Gas Power’s Manufacturing Excellence Center in Veresegyhaz, Hungary.