POWER September 2011 - 44

TOP PLANTS
Électricité de France S.A. (EDF) is the largest
electric utility company in France. Headquartered
in Paris and with approximately
€65.2 billion ($93.2 billion) in revenues in
2010, EDF operates a diverse portfolio of
more than 120,000 MW of generation capacity
in Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle
East, and Africa. EDF is one of the world's
largest producers of electricity. In 2003, it produced
22% of the European Union's electricity,
primarily from nuclear power.
The transmission network in France is
composed of two different systems. Reseau
de Transport d'Electrique (RTE) manages
a high-voltage and very high voltage transmission
system, which totals approximately
100,000 kilometers (km, 62,127 miles) of
transmission lines. In addition, a low- and medium-voltage
distribution system (1,200,000
km of lines) is maintained by ErDF (Électricité
Réseau Distribution France), formerly
known as EDF-Gaz de France Distribution.
It was spun off from EDF-Gaz de France
Distribution in 2008 as part of the process of
totally separating the activities of EDF and
GDF SUEZ.
Solving Construction Challenges
The Montoir-de-Bretagne power plant is
the result of over two years of construction.
1. The French connection. The GE
109FB combined cycle system, which includes
a Frame 9FB gas turbine, was installed
at the Montoir-de-Bretagne power
plant. It was manufactured at GE's European
gas turbine headquarters in Belfort, France,
and then shipped to the Montoir de Bretagne
site in late 2008 for on-site assembly. Courtesy:
GE Energy
Spanish-based general contractor Tecnicas
Reunidas provided engineering, procurement,
and construction services.
Erb pointed out that the contract was challenging
due to construction issues involving
operational and environmental constraints.
The project also involved the first installation
in France of the new GE 9FB gas turbine for
GDF SUEZ (Figure 1).
" Regarding the construction challenges,
the area where the plant is located is very
crumbly and marshy (close to the Loire
River), " Erb said. " More than 950 piles (28
The 9FB for the GDF SUEZ project was
manufactured at GE's European gas turbine
headquarters in Belfort, France, and then
shipped to the plant site in late 2008. Addressing
the growing need for cleaner power,
the 9FB is equipped with GE's advanced, dry
low-nitrogen oxides (NOx
) combustion system,
which limits NOx emissions to 25 parts
per million or less.
" The 9FB gas turbine is very flexible
and offers a quick answer to the electricity
market's fluctuations, " Erb said. " In 1 hour
and 15 minutes, the unit can go from 0 to
GDF SUEZ's requirements were for greater
operating flexibility, including improved
turndown capability, greater fuel flexibility,
and faster start-ups.
m long for 50% of them) had to be installed
in the ground to allow the first civil works
activities. Moreover, this is a seismic area as
well as a restricted area (it is a SEVESO explosive
area due to the neighborhood of the
Terminal Méthanier de Montoir, a liquefied
natural gas terminal), and constraints were
numerous and very important. "
The GE project team also had to deal
with environmental regulations related to
the plant's construction. As part of the project
requirements, they coordinated with the
Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Industry,
which is responsible for energy.
" This area is subject to environmental
restrictions (fauna and flora), " Erb
explained. " Local authorities keep strict
watch over the effluents (mainly in the
Loire River), the far field noise level, and
the emissions. All of them were strictly
respected and all contractual performance
requirements (subject to liquidated damages)
were reached by GE. "
Facility Highlights
The GE 109FB combined cycle system includes
a Frame 9FB gas turbine-one of the
world's most advanced air-cooled 50-hertz
gas turbines-plus a high-efficiency advanced
technology (HEAT) steam turbine
and associated 450H generators. The 9FB
gas turbine technology was designed to meet
GDF SUEZ's requirements for greater operating
flexibility, including improved turndown
capability, greater fuel flexibility, and
faster start-ups, to meet fluctuating demands
for electricity.
44
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435 MW and in 10 minutes from 250 MW
to 435 MW. "
Other equipment installed at the plant included,
but was not limited to, the following:
■ Heat recovery steam generator and boiler
(Doosan, Korea)
■ Condenser (Foster-Wheeler, Spain)
■ Distributed control system (GE, U.S.)
■ Steam turbine (GE, U.S.)
■ Generator (GE, U.S.)
■ Main transformer (Hyundai, Korea)
Of the personnel who work at the plant
now that it is operational, Erb said that " GE
had a contractual obligation to 'optimize'
the number of GDF SUEZ people operating
the plant. " Currently, two persons (one in the
control room and one on site) must operate
the plant continuously. In addition, the maintenance
team is composed of five people,
each with a specific area of expertise.
Future Impact of the New Plant
Erb believes the additional electricity supplied
by the GDF SUEZ power plant will
have a positive impact on the Loire-Atlantique
region's economic growth. " This
new power plant will supply the equivalent
of 450,000 homes with electricity and will
consolidate the supply of electricity to all
the western area and particularly the region
of St. Nazaire, " he said. " It is a determining
factor for securing new enterprises to
settle in this area. " ■
-Angela Neville, JD, is POWER's
senior editor.
POWER | September 2011
http://www.powermag.com
POWER September 2011

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