GE Bags $165 Mn Nuclear Steam Turbines Order from BHEL

$3 billion GE Steam Power has signed a USD 165 million contract with state-owned power generation equipment maker BHEL for the supply of three nuclear steam turbines.

These steam turbines will be installed at the six units of the future nuclear power plants being developed by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) under the domestic nuclear program phase-1 at Gorakhpur, Haryana (units - 1 to 4 (GHAVP)) and Kaiga (Kaiga-5&6) Karnataka, India.

Further, NPCIL’s domestic program includes 12 units of 700 MWe with its own nuclear reactor technology i.e., Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR). In total, it will represent 8.4GW of CO2-free electricity for the country, enough to power over 14 million homes.

Commenting on the nuclear steam turbine order from BHEL, Frédéric Wiscart, Nuclear New Build Leader for GE Steam Power, said “Nuclear energy is a critical and one of the most dependable sources of carbon-free power providing round-the-clock energy supply without interruption. At GE Steam Power, we are proud to partner with BHEL and to continue to support NPCIL and India in its path to reliable and lower carbon energy future. With our facility in Sanand, we have local manufacturing capability to deliver on the nuclear aspirations of India domestic programme.”
 
In 2018, GE and BHEL signed a business cooperation agreement and a License and Technology Transfer Agreement to enable them to manufacture nuclear steam turbines of 700 MW.  

In line with the government’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative, GE will manufacture the nuclear steam turbines at its facility in Sanand, Gujarat. These turbines are being engineered and manufactured with an improved design for enhanced output that will meet the requirements of the customer.

GE’s steam turbine technology currently operates in 50 per cent of the world’s nuclear power plants, producing 200 GWs for the global grid. The company has supplied nuclear steam turbines in consortium with BHEL for the ongoing NPCIL projects at Kakrapar (KAPP) and Rawatbhatha (RAPP), which will deliver 2,8GW of CO2-free energy once completed.