ASHGABAT (TCA) — Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov last week inspected the construction of a combined steam-gas power plant which is being constructed at the Mary power station, the country’s largest power plant, official Turkmen media reported.
With the completion of the new combined plant, scheduled for December 2018, the total generating capacity of Mary power station is to double.
The project’s contractor — Turkish company Çalyk Enerji — started construction work in July 2015. US company General Electric is also participating in the project.
The new combined cycle power plant will have a capacity of 1574 MW and will generate 12.6 billion kWh of electricity per year.
It will be fueled not only by natural gas but also by steam.
While the efficiency of conventional power plants is around 34 percent, with the combined cycle it will be increased more than one and a half fold, up to 57 percent, significantly reducing consumption of natural gas. Combined-cycle power plants are attractive in economic and environmental terms, since the volume of emissions of combustion product — carbon dioxide — is two to three fold less.
Environmental friendliness and waste-free production were noted by the President among the main advantages of the project, implementation of which will meet the country’s growing need for electricity and help increase the power export potential.
The project will also contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Turkmenistan and help the country in smooth transition to a “green economy” by using environmentally friendly and resource-saving technologies in the oil and gas, energy, and transport sectors.
