GE to upgrade two gas turbines at Azito Power Plant on the Ivory Coast

ABIDJAN, IVORY COAST — To improve performance and provide valuable insights and visibility into plant and turbine operations, GE’s Power Services business announced it has signed an agreement with Azito Energie S.A. (Azito) to upgrade two gas turbines at the company’s combined-cycle power plant. GE’s hardware upgrade and Operations Optimization digital solutions will help increase power output by up to 30 megawatts (MW) and will equip Azito with the insights it needs to increase efficiency and improve operations at the power plant. The project, located in the Yopougon district of the Ivory Coast, marks GE’s first GT13E2 MXL2 gas turbine upgrade order in sub-Saharan Africa.

Azito Power Plant Ivory Coast Resized
Photo courtesy of GE.

In addition to increasing power output by up to 30 MW, upgrades on the turbines are expected to deliver a combined-cycle efficiency increase, resulting in significant fuel savings and reduced CO2 emissions. GE’s solutions will also extend inspection intervals for the gas turbines, reducing maintenance and repair expenses—which, in turn, will reduce overall plant costs and result in improving profitability.

Slated for installation in mid-2018, the software will equip Azito with deep insights and key performance indicator (KPI)-based analytics to help improve overall plant performance. It delivers enterprise data visibility across power plant and fleet-wide footprints, providing a holistic understanding of operational decisions.

GE is a historical player and a pioneer in the Ivory Coast, particularly in the power sector. For example, the first-ever gas turbines (Vridi, 1984), the first independent power production project (Ciprel, 1994) and the first combined-cycle power plants in the country (Azito and Ciprel, 2015) all run mainly on GE technology.

In 2015, the company demonstrated its commitment to help bolster the Ivorian power sector to meet future demand increases and challenges with the signing of a cross-sector memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Ivory Coast. In the MoU, GE agreed to support the country in attaining its infrastructure development goals, which include adding 1 GW of power to the Ivorian national grid.

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