• GE’s Two 9.5-Megawatt J920 FleXtra Gas Engines to Provide More Efficient Heating for Rome’s Tor di Valle District
  • Cefla to Develop the Engineering and Balance of Plant for the Project
  • ACEA Project Offers Excellent Example for European Utilities and Municipalities to Modernize District Heating Systems with New, Highly Efficient Gas Engines

GE’s Distributed Power business (NYSE:GE) and Cefla SC today announced they have received an order from Italian utility ACEA Produzione SpA, a subsidiary of ACEA SPA—one of Italy’s principal multiutilities—for GE’s first two 9.5-megawatt (MW) Jenbacher J920 FleXtra gas engines to be deployed in Italy as part of a district heating repowering project in southwestern Rome.

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160622005717/en/

GE's Jenbacher J920 FleXtra gas engine. (Photo: Business Wire)

ACEA selected GE and Italian multibusiness company Cefla SC to modernize the existing Tor di Valle cogeneration and district heating plant, with the goal of improving its energy efficiency and reducing its environmental impacts. When the project is completed, the new 19-MW district heating power plant is expected to provide highly efficient thermal power to about 50,000 residential customers in Rome and for other energy-intensive, non-residential purposes.

“The Tor di Valle district heating power plant repowering project demonstrates our continued commitment to pursue our plan to develop, improve and modernize our energy production assets for the benefit of our residential and business customers,” said Giovanni Papaleo, head of ACEA Energy Industrial Area. “We believe that GE’s proven J920 FleXtra gas engine technology and Cefla’s engineering capabilities are perfectly suited to help us meet the new power and district heating and cooling needs of our customers in Rome.”

The project is a turnkey revamping of an existing district heating power plant that serves the southwestern area of Rome. The order consists of two J920 FleXtra combined heat and power (CHP) units plus three auxiliary boilers and associated district heating systems. The engines will produce 19 MW of electrical power and about 15 MW of thermal power, achieving more than 80 percent total efficiency. Three additional gas boilers will produce another 70 MW of thermal power to cover peak heat load demands. The project will include a multiyear service agreement for the two J920 FleXtra engines.

ACEA’s Tor di Valle district heating plant modernization is being designed and developed by the consortium of GE and Cefla. GE will be providing the Jenbacher J920 FleXtra generator sets, related engineering and associated balance of plant equipment. Cefla will develop the engineering aspects of the plant, providing project management, ensuring plant supplies and taking care of installation of the entire plant, including the civil infrastructure.

"This project is a significant step within our plan to develop and grow in the energy sector,” said Roberto Cocchi, Cefla Plant Solutions BU managing director. “It is an important recognition of our capabilities and our system engineering experience, gained over the last 30 years, coming from a major company like ACEA, which is committed to development and innovation, and from GE, one of the world leaders in providing power generation equipment.”

In addition to its first J920 FleXtra order in Italy, GE has also received orders for its most powerful gas engine technology for several new cogeneration projects in Germany and a new grid-stabilization project in the United States. The ACEA Tor di Valle district heating project marks the first time that GE’s J920 FleXtra technology has been selected to modernize an existing gas-fired district heating power plant.

“We are pleased to collaborate with Cefla to demonstrate our project management and distributed power technology capabilities for ACEA’s district heating modernization project in the city of Rome,” said Andreas Lippert, executive engineering leader for GE’s Distributed Power business. “This project showcases the advantages of our J920 FleXtra gas engine technology as more European utilities and municipalities modernize their CHP plants with more efficient, reliable and flexible gas engines to meet increasingly stringent environmental regulations and support the growth of renewable energy on the grid.”

Construction of the plant is expected to begin in 2016 and finish in 2017.

The Tor di Valle district heating project represents the first balance of plant turnkey project for GE’s Jenbacher J920 FleXtra gas engines in Italy and expands on GE’s previous relationship with ACEA in developing gas turbine power plant projects in Italy.

GE and Cefla will help ACEA to balance the supply of energy by integrating the engines with a thermal energy storage system. This will ensure a continuous supply of heat without needing to increase electric power generation except during peak demand periods, which are of premium value.

About Cefla – Plant Solutions business unit

Cefla Plant Solutions. For more than 80 years Cefla Plant Solutions has designed, built and maintained complex civil and industrial plant engineering systems and, for more than 30 years, worked in the energy sector as a provider of natural gas energy co-generation plants, heat recovery systems and gaseous flow purification systems. In the civil and industrial plant engineering fields, as in the energy production and Oil & Gas sectors, Cefla is also a provider of both technological services and global services.

About Cefla

Cefla is an internationally established Italian industrial concern that was founded in 1932. It is continuously evolving and operates in four different business areas: Plant Solutions (civil and industrial plant engineering for the energy sector), Shopfitting Solutions (shop equipment and customized retail outlet solutions), Finishing Solutions (machines and complete plants for coating and finishing) and Medical Solutions (equipment for the dental and medical sectors). Cefla’s strength stems from its founding principles: strategic vision and long-term planning, investment in technology and innovation, financial soundness.

About GE’s Distributed Power Business

GE’s Distributed Power business is a leading provider of engines, power equipment and services focused on power generation and gas compression at or near the point of use. Distributed Power offers a diverse product portfolio that includes highly efficient, fuel-flexible, industrial gas engines generating 200 kW to 10 MW each of power for numerous industries globally. In addition, the business provides life cycle support for more than 36,000 gas engines worldwide to help you meet your business challenges and success metrics—anywhere and anytime. Backed by our authorized service providers in more than 170 countries, GE‘s global service network connects with you locally for rapid response to your service needs. GE’s Distributed Power business is headquartered in Jenbach, Austria.

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

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

GE’s Distributed PowerSusanne Reichelt+43 664 80833 2382susanne.reichelt@ge.comorCefla scBeatrice Brusa+39 339 3416469+39 0542653602beatrice.brusa@cefla.it

GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024 Click Here for more GE Aerospace Charts.
GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024 Click Here for more GE Aerospace Charts.