< Previous5859 GE IN ALGERIA In the Heart of the Sahara Desert, GE’s Aeroderivative Gas Turbines are Generating Electricity and Enabling Renewables60 Tamanrasset, an Algerian city of nearly 100,000 inhabitants in the heart of the Sahara Desert, seems like it’s far from everything when observed on a map. Located around 2,000 kilometres (some 1,200 miles) from the capital, Algiers, Tamanrasset is connected to the rest of the world mainly by the trans-Saharan road that crosses the largest desert in the world, from northern Algeria to Niger and beyond to the south. Residents have constantly relied on locally supplied power. Today, this includes dozens of GE TM2500 aeroderivative gas turbines. Their extensive use in Algeria underscores the significant advantages that these truck-mounted, mobile power plants, derived from jet-engine technology, bring to countries that are focusing on energy security or emergency power — with over than 300 installed worldwide. They also play a crucial role in the energy transition as Algeria works towards relying more on renewable solar power.61 More than a decade ago, the Algerian government decided to take firm action to address electricity shortages. GE Gas Power supported these efforts by installing high-capacity gas turbines in northern Algeria and TM2500s to deliver power to the rest of the country. Today, there is a fleet of 38 TM2500 turbines at 18 sites in the region, with a combined production capacity of up to 1.17 gigawatts (GW). They can operate reliably in the harsh, sandstorm-whipped environment of the Sahara. The nimble TM2500 can also be moved to different locations to help meet changing needs. A recent example was the transfer of a turbine from a site in the north of the country to Tindouf, a town in southwestern Algeria on the border with Mauritania. The TM2500 also boasts advantages over diesel generators. Not only can it deliver more power — up to 36 MW each — but it can also operate efficiently at partial load. This means that two TM2500s can be operated at partial load without losing efficiency and while retaining the possibility of rapidly increasing power to help meet any increase in demand or to compensate for the downtime of another turbine. Beyond energy security, the TM2500s are important in Algeria’s energy transition and efforts toward net-zero targets. Algeria is working on building 15 GW of solar energy by 2035 with several announced projects to install solar power plants across the country. The TM2500s help balance the grid during the transition, meaning they can be turned on or off depending on weather and demand conditions. In addition, the aeroderivative turbines are capable of operating with more sustainable fuels such as hydrogen. GE’s highly efficient and flexible TM2500 technology is also helping many oil field operators in the region to meet their power generation plans, transition from diesel to natural gas-based power generation by utilizing previously flared associated gas and eliminate the use of diesel. GE’s TM2500 is just one part of its portfolio of aeroderivative gas turbines that include the LM6000 aeroderivative and the LM2500 family of aeroderivative gas turbines, including the LM2500XPRESS. 6263 FLOATING WINDS 200-turbine floating wind and green hydrogen development is underway at sites West of Shetland and in the Central North Sea64 A plan to decarbonise offshore oil and gas assets in the UK through an integrated 200-turbine floating wind and green hydrogen development was launched in 2021. Developed by Cerulean Winds, the $11 billion project is expected to provide 3GW/h to feed power to the offshore oil and gas assets, and over 1.5GW/h to power onshore green hydrogen plants. The project’s operations will begin in 2024 and have the capacity to abate 20 million tonnes of carbon emissions per year. Cerulean Winds said the development requires no subsidies or Contracts for Difference and would bring hundreds of millions of dollars to government revenue through leases and taxation until 2030. “The oil and gas sector is wrestling with the challenges of meeting the North Sea transition deal emissions reduction targets while supporting UK’s energy security. The developer said they recognise that to achieve meaningful reductions at the pace required, a reliable basin-wide approach is needed that they can plug into when they are ready for affordable power.65 “Early oil and gas electrification supports the country’s energy security and net zero action, and delivers huge benefits to the supply chain and economy, creating 10,000 jobs,” said Dan Jackson, founding director of Cerulean Winds. The developer has chosen contractors for the massive development and engaged the financial markets for a fully funded infrastructure development. The project will be able to electrify the majority of current UK Continental Shelf assets as well as future production potential to allow for the development of green hydrogen at scale. Cerulean Winds said they have a $22 billion North Sea renewables grid plan in which the North Sea Renewable Grid (NSRG) will provide green power to oil and gas platforms. The first phase of the NSRG project will focus on oil and gas operators to support their brownfield modifications, the other phases will focus on exporting clean energy to the grids in the southern UK and Europe.6667 PROTEVS BY SOLARISFLOAT 180 mobile solar panels are tracking the movement of the sunNext >