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Press Release20 October 2022Siemens EnergyHouston
Siemens Energy to supply world’s first emissions-reducing gas/electric hybrid drive system for an LNG plant
The hybrid drive system will combine a Siemens Energy
low-emissions industrial gas turbine, integrally geared compressor, and
electric motor-generator to ensure stable and efficient operation of the
plant’s main refrigeration/liquefaction train throughout the year while
slashing emissions, reducing costs, and increasing efficiency.
Available power from gas turbines decreases as the ambient
temperature increases. As a result, units installed at industrial facilities
are often oversized to ensure sufficient power during the hot and humid
weather. However, the same gas turbine may generate much more power during cold
time than is required, leading to reduced efficiency and increased emissions.
The hybrid drive refrigeration compressor system being supplied for NEC offers
a solution to this problem by combining an electric motor-generator with a gas
turbine that features a dry-low emissions (DLE) design with lowest achievable
NOx emissions levels. The same system allows NEC an active and powerful tool in
demand side management and reduces its costs and the need to purchase power
from the grid, while allowing the sale of power back to the utility.
The NEC project is strategically important to the security
of energy supply of New England that depends on imported LNG. The NEC facility is expected to produce
a baseload of 170,000 gallons of LNG per day for Boston Gas under a firm
contract and up to 250,000 gallons per day to other utilities. The
gas turbine’s output will decrease when LNG production increases to 250,000
gallons per day on hot summer days when the motor-generator will function as a
motor to supply additional power to the compression system.
“The reality is when it comes to facilitating the energy
transition, natural gas can be a solution,” said Rich Voorberg, president of
Siemens Energy North America. “It will serve as a reliable complement to
renewable energy in many regions of the world. The combination of the gas
turbine, integrally geared compressor, and motor-generator at the NEC plant
represents a highly flexible solution that will enable the liquefaction plant
to operate efficiently year-round, regardless of the ambient conditions. This
will significantly reduce overall energy consumption over the plant’s life,
resulting in a lower carbon footprint.”
“The integrated hybrid drive solution provided by Siemens
Energy demonstrates the next step in hybridization of the energy systems in
their decarbonization process,” said Boris Brevnov, Manager and Developer of
NEC. “Building on this next generation design and its environmental advantages,
NEC also offers local utilities a choice of L-RNG, an LNG product made from
renewable natural gas.”
The plant has an onsite LNG storage
capacity of 2 million gallons. The LNG produced will be available for delivery
by truck and used as a feedstock for utility distribution companies and power generation
facilities.
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Siemens Energy is one of the world’s leading energy technology companies. The company works with its customers and partners on energy systems for the future, thus supporting the transition to a more sustainable world. With its portfolio of products, solutions and services, Siemens Energy covers almost the entire energy value chain – from power generation and transmission to storage. The portfolio includes conventional and renewable energy technology, such as gas and steam turbines, hybrid power plants operated with hydrogen, and power generators and transformers. More than 50 percent of the portfolio has already been decarbonized. A majority stake in the listed company Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) makes Siemens Energy a global market leader for renewable energies. An estimated one-sixth of the electricity generated worldwide is based on technologies from Siemens Energy. Siemens Energy employs around 91,000 people worldwide in more than 90 countries and generated revenue of €28.5 billion in fiscal year 2021.