The Hiep Phuoc 1 steam power plant in Ho Chi Minh City will be upgraded into a combined cycle power plant fired with liquefied natural gas (LNG) instead of the oil that has been used to date, with equipment provided by Siemens.

The Hiep Phuoc 1 steam power plant. Photo: cscec-sea.com

This project will increase the plant’s generation capacity by roughly 780 megawatts (MW) to approximately 1,200 MW, Siemens said in a statement, without specifying the cost of the equipment.

By changing the fuel, deploying modern F-class gas turbines from Siemens, and using the waste heat from the gas turbines to produce electricity, the CO2 emissions can be cut almost in half for each kilowatt hour produced on-site.

The scope of supply from Siemens includes three SGT5-4000F gas turbines, three generators, three heat recovery steam generators, related electrical equipment and the SPPA-T3000 control system.

Once the power plant has been upgraded, the waste heat from the gas turbines will be used to generate steam. The steam obtained will be used to drive the existing steam turbines and generators for electricity production.

Recommissioning of the upgraded plant is scheduled for second half of 2022. To meet the current electricity demand in Vietnam, Hiep Phuoc Power Co. Ltd. will be able to provide around 520 MW to the grid by mid-2021 through open cycle operation.

Besides Hiep Phuoc 1 plant, Siemens has supplied equipment for other combined cycle power plants in Vietnam such as the Phu My 2-1 and Phu My 3 extensions as well as the Ca Mau 1&2 and Nhon Trach 2 power plants.