GE Power has announced that it has won the contract to deliver the turbine island equipment for El Dabaa nuclear power plant project in Egypt through AAEM, its joint venture with Atomenergomash.

The solutions provider will supply the basic design of four conventional islands, supply four nuclear turbine generator sets, including the Arabelle half-speed steam turbines, as well as provide technical expertise for the on-site installation and commissioning.

“As Egypt works to diversify its energy production and to support its growing economy, the El Dabaa nuclear power plant, equipped with GE Power’s Arabelle technology, will help Egypt deliver on their ambitious goals,” said Andreas Lusch, CEO of GE’s Steam Power.

“Today, the Arabelle is helping to deliver more than 20GW of power around the world and we will leverage this experience and know-how to deliver reliable, dependable and CO2 free energy to the Egyptian grid,” Lusch added.

Electricity demand in Egypt has increased rapidly as a result of their growing population and increasing industrial activity.

It’s estimated that an additional 1.5GW of new capacity will be needed each year – that’s a 6% increase year over year until 2022.

To support this increasing demand without blackouts, Egypt has an ambitious energy plan which includes diversifying its installed base.

El Dabaa nuclear power plant

El Dabaa nuclear power plant will help deliver on that plan by stabilising the Egyptian grid with dependable, CO2 free energy and having a predictable low cost of electricity.

Once in operation, El Dabaa will produce 4.8GW – enough to power up more than 4 million homes across the North African country.

The El Dabaa project builds on GE Power supporting the development of Egypt’s energy sector for more than 40 years which includes delivering up to 16GW to the Egyptian grid.

Recently, the company completed building and connecting the Badr substation in the country to the national grid.

The new 500/220kV Gas-Insulated Substation will dispatch 1.5GW of electricity and play a strategic role in the upcoming Egypt – Saudi Arabia Interconnection, linking the national grids of both countries with a 1,300-km transmission line.