GLOBAL power company Alstom has completed the handover of the 1.2 GW Shoaiba III steam power plant to the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC).

Comprising three individual 400 MW blocks, the Shoaiba III plant began in September 2008 and has been built around Alstom’s STF40 steam turbines and Gigatop 2-pole turbogenerators. To meet stringent Saudi environmental regulations, it also utilises Alstom’s environmental control systems expertise. A seawater flue gas desulphurisation (SWFGD) system drastically cuts emissions by using brine to strip sulphur oxides from the flue gas, whilst NOx-reducing tangential firing technology employed in the boilers mitigates nitrogen oxides – both helping make Shoaiba III a cleaner electricity provider. Finally, the latest ALSPA power control systems ensure efficient management of the plant, so that it can meet the varying demands placed on the grid in a region, which includes the Holy City of Makkah.

Located on the Red Sea coast 100 km south of Jeddah, Shoaiba III is part of the enormous Shoaiba facility, which now generates a total of 5,600 MW to the Saudi grid from its 14 units. It is not just the largest power plant in the kingdom but also the biggest in the Middle East.

An Alstom-led consortium, with strong support from locally-based contractor Saudi Archirodon executed the three-stage Shoaiba project on a turnkey basis, with the company designing, supplying, installing and commissioning all aspects of the complex. The first contract was signed in 1998, and the initial phase of work on Shoaiba I was completed in August 2002 with three units entering commercial operation a total of 107 days ahead of schedule. An impressive series of similar achievements followed with all of the project’s stages – Shoaiba I, II and III – delivered ahead of schedule, and 12 out of 14 units completed early.

“This success is the result of the strong execution capabilities of Alstom, the proactive coordination of all Alstom manufacturing sites, as well as third-party suppliers around the world, all of whom contributed to this excellent achievement,” said Andreas Lusch, senior vice president of Alstom’s steam business. “Most of all, Shoaiba III has benefited from the excellent and constructive cooperation of the project teams of both SEC and Alstom working together.”

Ali Saleh Al Barrak, president and CEO of SEC, said the project was “crucial for the development of the Saudi economy.”

The Alstom Group employs over 90,000 people in around 100 countries, and had sales of €21 billion in 2010/11.