The 758 MW Panda Temple 1
Flex-Plant will provide electricity
to the Texas Triangle, one of the
fastest-growing areas in the U.S.
Power
generation
Deep In The Heart Of Texas
S
Flexible combined-cycle power plant (CCPP) to balance strong Texas renewables;
consortium synergy key to successful, safe construction
iemens Energy Inc., in consortium with Bechtel and Panda
Power Funds, has commissioned
the Panda Temple Power 1 plant
in Temple, Texas, U.S.A.
The natural gas-fired, multishaft Panda
Temple Flex-Plant is the first in commercial operation in Texas and has a gross
installed electrical capacity of 758 MW,
enough power to meet the needs of approximately 750 000 homes in the Central and North Texas regions.
Flex-Plant CCPPs offer high efficiency
and operational flexibility, the company
said. Design features are incorporated to
enable fast start and fast ramping up and
down across a large operating window,
from low plant turndown to high plant
output, with carbon monoxide (CO)
emissions less than 10 ppm and nitrogen
oxide (NOx) emissions less than 2 ppm.
“Siemens’ fast and efficient Flex-Plant
technology is a perfect fit in balancing intermittent renewable resources and providing low cost electricity,” said Martin
Tartibi, senior executive vice president,
Siemens Energy Solutions Americas.
“The Panda Temple plant is the third
Flex-Plant in commercial operation in
the U.S., and it will be considered one
of the cleanest fossil-fueled plants in
the nation.”
The company said this was especially
relevant in Texas, which has very strong
renewable power generation. Texas exceeded its 2025 goal of 10 000 MW of
renewable generation 16 years ahead
of schedule, and by 2012 its total renewable installed capacity was more than 13
GW, according to Siemens.
Diesel & Gas Turbine Worldwide April 2015
The Siemens scope of supply included
the thermodynamic cycle design and
power island engineering. The company
also delivered two SGT6-5000F gas turbines, one SST6-5000 steam turbine, two
SGen6-1000A generators, one SGen62000H generator, the SPPA-T3000 instrumentation and control system, two
NEM USA Corp.-manufactured Benson
heavy duct-fired heat recovery steam
generators (HRSG) and other key cycle
components. The gas turbines, steam
turbines and generators were manufactured at the Siemens North American manufacturing hub in Charlotte,
North Carolina, U.S.A. A long-term service
agreement is also in place for the main
generation components.
“The successful completion of this
plant demonstrates the strength of the
Power
generation
Siemens’ scope of supply included the thermodynamic cycle
design and power island engineering, two gas turbines, one
steam turbine, three generators, the instrumentation and
control system, two heat recovery steam generators and
other key cycle components, while Bechtel provided project
management, engineering, procurement, construction and
startup services.
Bechtel, Panda and Siemens consortium,” Tartibi said.
“The team successfully delivered a plant that will quickly ramp up power to fuel the region’s growth and economic vitality.”
The Temple 1 generating station is one of the fasteststarting power plants of its kind in the country, the
company said. The combustion turbines can synchronize in 10 minutes and reach full load within 30 minutes
— the entire plant can achieve full power production
within 60 minutes. This startup flexibility avoids holding the gas turbine at low load to start, instead ramping
up directly to a low emissions point that results in 84%
less CO per start and 89% less NOx.
The plant also features low cooling water usage, utilizing treated effluent (reclaimed) water. The 101 hectare
site is designated as a “zero liquid discharge” site, meaning that no wastewater is discharged, but is instead
evaporated in ponds under the hot Texas sun.
In partnership with Siemens, Bechtel provided project
management, engineering, procurement, construction
and startup services. About 70% of the project’s subcontractors and 80% of Bechtel’s craft workers were
from Texas, including several recently discharged Army
veterans from the nearby Fort Hood military base.
The company said it has successfully completed
combined-cycle projects in the U.S., the U.K., Egypt,
India, Turkey and Mexico, and operates through five
global business units that specialize in civil infrastructure; power generation, communications and transmission; mining and metals; oil, gas and chemicals;
and government services.
Bechtel and Siemens are currently working to deliver
the Panda Temple 2 generating station adjacent to
Panda Temple 1, which will double the size and output
The operational Panda Temple 1 plant is on
the right, with the ongoing construction of the
adjacent Panda Temple 2 shown on the left. When
completed, the two facilities will provide 1615
MW of combined-cycle power to central and
northern Texas.
Diesel & Gas Turbine Worldwide April 2015
Power
generation
to 1615 MW. The Temple 2 project will share common facilities,
laterals and operations with Temple 1, creating economic benefits for both plants. The facilities will be supplied with natural
gas from Texas suppliers. The Temple 2 expansion is expected
to come online during the summer of 2015.
“Panda Temple 1 represents a tremendous team effort, including our consortium partner Siemens and Panda Power Funds,
all of whom worked seamlessly to bring the plant online early,”
said Mary McLaughlin, president of Bechtel’s thermal power
business line. “As a result of a strong safety culture, the team
worked the duration of the 30-month project without a losttime accident.”
The companies are also working on the Panda Sherman
Power Project in Sherman, Texas, U.S.A., and the Panda Stonewall Power Project in Leesburg, Virginia, U.S.A. The projects
are similar in size to Panda Temple 1 and, when completed,
will collectively generate enough electricity to power almost
3 million homes.
The Temple site is strategically located to meet electricity demand in the Texas Triangle, a 155 399 km2 area bordered by
Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Houston — four of the fastestgrowing metropolitan areas in the U.S. — and home to 75% of
the state’s population.
“The early completion of this plant is critically important to the
state and to the community of Temple, especially now when
Texas is growing by more than 1000 people a day,” said Todd
Carter, president and senior partner of Panda Power Funds.
Founded in 2010, Panda Power Funds is a private equity firm
headquartered in Dallas that has the ability to develop, acquire,
construct, finance and operate utility scale, natural gas-fueled
power generation facilities. The company has two CCPPs in
operation in Texas and three CCPPs currently under construction in Texas and Pennsylvania U.S.A. Two power projects are
currently in advanced development in northern Virginia, U.S.A.,
and southern Maryland, U.S.A., and the company said its 20
MW solar farm in New Jersey, U.S.A., is one of the largest solar
facilities in the northeastern U.S.
Panda said its 2012 financing of the Panda Temple plant was
widely reported as a breakthrough for the U.S. project-finance
market, representing the first time in six years that institutional
investors had financed a capital-intensive construction project
in the U.S. with a term loan.
“Temple was our first project working with Siemens, and we
made the right choice,” Carter said. “We are impressed with
their state-of-the art technological power plant solutions and
service.” Panda said that the Temple 1 CCPP, and Temple 2 when
it is completed, would provide a reliable market for Texas natural gas supplies and a much-needed source of clean, economical power for a region that is growing at an impressive rate.
According to an economic analysis conducted by Impact
Data Source of Austin, Texas, the plant is expected to contribute up to US$1.6 billion to the central Texas economy during
the now-completed construction phase and the plant’s first 10
years of operation. A
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