GE has received a contract worth nearly $1bn from Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) to build the 1390MW Waad Al Shamal combined cycle power plant in Saudi Arabia.
Under the contact, GE will be responsible for the engineering, construction and provision of gas turbine services for the power plant.
GE will supply four advanced GE 7F.05 heavy duty gas turbines and a GE steam turbine, and featuring solar innovation technology.
The facility is designed to support the phosphate mining operations in the region while driving industrialization.
Upon completion scheduled in 48 months, the combined cycle power plant is expected to generate electricity equivalent to the power required for more than 500,000 Saudi homes.
Saudi Electricity Company CEO Ziyad Al Shiha said: "We continue to strengthen the Kingdom’s power infrastructure to meet the growing demand for electricity and to accelerate all-round growth.
"Waad Al Shamal is a strategically located power plant that has tremendous potential to energize the local economy and create jobs for Saudis through its support to the industrial sector."
In order to ensure seamless operations, the firm will also extend its long-term service support to the plant.
The GE’s 7F.05 heavy duty gas turbine technology is expected to provide a 10-minute startup to an 80% load for the Waad Al Shamal plant, the company said.
GE will build one of the gas turbines at GE Manufacturing Technology Center in Dammam, Saudi Arabia while the remaining gas turbines will be developed at its manufacturing plant in Greenville, South Carolina, US.
The steam turbine will be produced at GE’s manufacturing plant in Schenectady, New York, US, as per the deal.
In January 2015, GE was selected by SEC to help integrate a solar field with a combined-cycle plant under a landmark project.
Scheduled to be built in northwestern Saudi Arabia along the Red Sea coast, the 600MW Green Duba integrated solar combined cycle plant is expected to generate the equivalent power needed to supply 600,000 Saudi homes for a year.
Image: A GE-built 7F.05 gas turbine. Photo: courtesy of General Electric.