Spain’s Iberdrola has finished commissioning a 1.2GW combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant at Koudiet in Algeria that will meet 18% of the country’s electricity demand. Iberdrola and US firm General Electric (GE) built the three-unit plant under a €1.47bn contract from SKD, a joint venture of state gas and electricity utility Sonelgaz and state petroleum company Sonatrach.
Work on the first 400MW unit began in 2008. Completion represents a key first step to achieving Algeria’s highly ambitious expansion plans. These would see the addition of an extra 11.2GW – all gas-fired – by the end of 2016 (see table). Diesel tanks with a combined capacity of 28,000 cu ms were also built at the site, providing enough alternative fuel for six days of supply in the event of a gas outage. (CONTINUED - 536 WORDS)
