Soluciones Integrales de Combustión continues to provide global technical service for the commissioning of thermal power plants around the world, despite the difficulties caused by Covid-19. Commissioning is the systematic procedure that ensures that all systems and components of the industrial thermal plant are designed, installed and tested, and that they operate and are maintained according to the customer’s operating requirements, taking corrective actions and verifying the performance of the facilities.

 In the last days our technical team is operating in the Middle East region.  

In the midst of the current pandemic, and with the restrictions on mobility that this entails (quarantines, risks, limitations, etc.) the technical service of Soluciones Integrales de Combustión  (Comprehensive Combustion Solutions) continues to work globally. Our colleagues have not stopped and continue to undertake the start-up work and commissioning, technical advice and repairs necessary for the thermal power plants to continue to function properly or to start their activity to allow them to respond to the many challenges of industrial combustion.  

Global technical service

In the area of ​​new projects, our colleague Josu landed at the Jedahh airport a few days ago to start up the largest combined cycle plant in Saudi Arabia, in Duba, led by a partner in which the Spanish company Initec Energía is located. Now, after exceeding the relevant quarantine period required by local administrations, it will start up the combustion facilities of this hybrid plant. The construction project for this unit began three years ago, and entails a total investment of 626 million euros, to integrate a 550 megawatt combined gas cycle and a 50 MW solar field, with parabolic mirror technology (CSP) . 

Initec Energía (IE), a subsidiary of the construction and services group ACS, together with the Saudi company SSEM, signed with the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) said contract to supply in EPC terms – design, construction and operation, for its acronym in English – the construction of the Duba solar combined cycle (ISCC) plant. The same consortium has also signed a long-term maintenance contract.

This initiative joins two other projects planned by SEC in Saudi Arabia, which results in an important reform and innovation for the electricity production activity in this country, which is committed to clean energy, for which it has the experience of IE in renewable energies and, specifically, in solar.

In turn, our colleague Raúl is currently experiencing the quarantine of the newcomers to Israel, where he must be confined for a period of 10 days as well. Preventive confinements and quarantines make us long for the free mobility of just over a year ago, when it was possible to access any part of the world without problems. In these times affected by the pandemic, it is much more complicated, although it cannot stop our technical team. In fact, Raúl will continue his task in a few days.

Commissioning of thermal power plants

A few weeks ago, Soluciones Integrales de Combustion carried out the technical commissioning service for the combustion equipment of the Saudi Waad Al-Shamal plant, an Abengoa hybrid solar-gas plant that also uses combined cycle and solar technologies..

In the aforementioned project, the engineering of combustion technologies E&M Combustion has been in charge of designing and manufacturing JBD duoblock burners, model 3500, with reduced NOX emissions, to help optimize the energy efficiency of the thermal power plant, as well as allow the improvement environment. The company delivered the combustion equipment prepared to work with combustion air at 200ºC.

Also in this case, the plant is owned by the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC). Located in the northeast region of Saudi Arabia, 20 km from the city of Turaif, it has a combined cycle power of 1,390 MW and a solar parabolic field of 50 MW.

Energy optimization of thermal power plants

Soluciones Integrales de Combustión provides global technical service to develop the correct operation of various industrial plants around the world. This is an activity considered critical and it is essential to keep the plants operational and optimize their operation: it contributes to improving the useful life of the equipment and avoiding future breakdowns.

The main objective of the commissioning is to allow the safe and orderly delivery of the units from the construction phases to the delivery to the owner, guaranteeing their operability in terms of performance, reliability, safety and traceability.