Steam turbine order

The

group, based in Oberhausen, has announced orders totalling approximately €100m (£89m) for steam turbines to be used at solar power plants and waste-to-energy facilities.

Masdar Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, based in Abu Dhabi, ordered a 125MW steam turbine from MAN Turbo for what will be the largest solar power plant in the world.

The Shams 1 plant is currently being built in Medinat Sayed, which is approximately 150km from Abu Dhabi.

For the order, MAN Turbo produced what is claimed to be the biggest steam turbine ever designed for generating solar heat.

Smaller versions of the turbine will be used for generating solar heat at a facility in Spain. The parabolic trough power plants Andasol 3 in Andalusia and Ibersol in the south-western section of the Iberian Peninsula will use two steam turbines with a capacity of 50MW each.

The Andasol 3 plant is scheduled for completion in 2011 and construction on the Ibersol plant will begin operating in the middle of this year.

In the waste-to-energy sector, MAN Turbo is supplying two steam turbines, rated at 25MW and 20MW, for the expansion of two waste processing plants in Germany and Switzerland. The two turbines, manufactured at the MAN Turbo facility in Hamburg, will be used in processes involving the cogeneration of heat and power, ensuring that maximum energy is produced from the waste.

MAN Turbo is also planning to supply a 80MW steam turbine to what will be the largest waste-to-energy plant in UK. The facility is currently under construction in south-east London. When it begins running in 2011, it is expected to generate energy from 585,000 tons of municipal and industrial waste per year, delivering energy to around 66,000 households every year. Each of the plant's three incineration lines will process approximately 32 tons of waste per hour.

‘The proportions of different energy sources will change in the future, meaning that renewable energy will play a greater role,’ explained MAN Turbo board member Hans-O. Jeske. ‘For example, carbon dioxide reduction goals will lead to a greater demand for energy sources such as solar heat. Also, operators of so-called classic industries will place higher and higher emphasis on significantly greater efficiency from the energy they use. Our products can offer a valuable contribution.’