Powering Brazil ! Building Latin America’s largest gas power plant

Enter natural gas. Gas is a cleaner alternative to other fuels and is already responsible for more than 10% of the country’s energy matrix capacity.

Gas power plants, in combined-cycle configuration, provide efficient and reliable power to the grid. The ability to ramp-up to full power fast allows for quick response to grid demands at critical times, helping to avoid blackouts or interruptions in power supply, reducing transmission losses, and complementing intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.

The new Porto de Sergipe combined-cycle gas power plant, to be located in Barra dos Coqueiros, will allow the country to meet its growing energy needs, and revolutionize the way power is delivered in Brazil. With a generation capacity of 1,516 MW, Sergipe will be the largest natural gas power plant in Latin America, and capable of meeting up to 15% of the energy demand in Northeast Brazil alone.

The Sergipe plant will be powered by GE’s world-record-setting HA gas turbine technology with three gas turbines, a steam turbine, heat recovery steam generators (HRSG), and critical transmission and distribution technology. Not only is the HA technology faster, capable of delivering full power to the grid in under 30 minutes, but it can achieve an efficiency rate of more than 62% and generate more power with 50% less CO2 emissions. And it is estimated that a 1,000 MW plant with two HA gas turbines can save $50 million dollars in fuel over 10 years.

The Sergipe plant is also a prime example of how the GE Store makes a difference when it comes to offering innovative solutions to meet the growing energy demand in Brazil. GE will provide the full turnkey gas power plant and grid construction including all equipment responsible for the generation, transmission and distribution of energy.

With the acquisition of Alstom Power & Grid, GE has now a complete portfolio to offer solutions in the energy sector from generation to transmission of electricity. Today, GE accounts for more than 33% of all energy produced in Brazil, or more than 47 GW.