PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--GE (NYSE:GE) and A2A Group (A2A) today announced that GE’s Operations Optimization software suite has been installed at the Chivasso power plant in Northern Italy after the facility was reopened in November 2015, following GE’s hardware and software upgrades. New digital solutions have made the Chivasso power plant competitive again in the ancillary service market, and A2A is planning to install GE’s software and hardware technologies in more power plants to utilize big data analytics to improve fleet performance and make smarter operational decisions.
“Our fleet will reap the benefits of GE’s digital solutions,” said Valerio Camerano, CEO of A2A. “These upgrades allowed us to restart the Chivasso plant in November 2015 after we were forced to mothball the facility three years ago because the plant could not respond quickly enough to changing grid demands. Thanks to GE’s hardware and software solutions, we can now react more quickly to market conditions while reducing operating costs and improving the plant’s environmental footprint. We look forward to continuing our strong working relationship and winning approach with GE to improve the rest of our power plant fleet operations.”
GE’s Operations Optimization software suite drives better plant and fleet performance across equipment manufacturers, site configurations and thermal cycles. This technology can deliver enterprise data visibility across A2A power plants, including non-GE equipment and fleet-wide footprints, providing a holistic understanding of the operational decisions that can expand capabilities, lower production costs and improve reliability.
“GE’s investments in the power of software and data can help A2A strengthen its flexibility in an industry where such technologies are evolving and having increased impacts at breakneck speed,” said Paul McElhinney, president and CEO of GE’s Power Services business. “GE’s digital solutions are breathing new life into power plants previously believed to be unsustainable, and our technologies allow A2A to reinvent how it operates its assets. We are excited to help position A2A to ‘win’ and remain competitive with their existing fleets.”
GE’s relationship with the Chivasso power plant dates back more than six decades, beginning with the installation of GE’s first steam turbine in Italy in 1952. To help A2A restart the Chivasso power plant in 2015, GE provided a total plant solution, which included upgrading one Ansaldo steam turbine and two 9FA gas turbines with its Dry Low NOx 2.6 + combustion hardware technology, advanced controls and software solutions. The company also provided a new boiler system through its legacy Alstom business, which GE formally acquired in November 2015.
GE’s hardware and digital solutions helped the Chivasso power plant take its first step toward a digital industrial transformation by achieving a 65 megawatt (MW) per gas turbine minimum load level—the best in GE’s 9FA fleet—and enabling load ramping at up to 50 MW per minute or two-and-a-half times the normal rate.
For the past 15 years, GE has maintained and serviced the company’s gas turbines to provide cost-effective performance improvements. GE optimized a total of six 9FA gas turbines at A2A’s Chivasso, Cassano and Sermide power plants by installing GE’s OpFlex* advanced controls software to reduce plant downtime and interruptions in production while increasing plant responsiveness to meet fast-changing grid demands.
About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) is the world’s Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the "GE Store," through which each business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect. Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry. www.ge.com
About GE Power
GE Power is a world leader in power generation with deep domain expertise to help customers deliver electricity from a wide spectrum of fuel sources. We are transforming the electricity industry with the digital power plant, the world’s largest and most efficient gas turbine, full balance of plant, upgrade and service solutions as well as our data-leveraging software. Our innovative technologies and digital offerings help make power more affordable, reliable, accessible and sustainable.
For more information, visit the company's website at www.gepower.com. Follow GE Power on Twitter @GE_Power and on LinkedIn at GE Power.
About GE’s Power Services Business
GE’s Power Services business, headquartered in Baden, Switzerland, delivers world-class solutions for our customers across total plant assets and their operational lifetimes. This organization supports 2,800+ customers worldwide with an installed base of 28,000+ power generation assets, which includes other OEMs, and taps into the Industrial Internet to improve the performance of our solutions over the entire life cycle through the power of software and big data analytics.
For more information, please visit powergen.gepower.com.
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