GE Steam Power inks USD 165 mn pact to supply 3 nuclear steam turbines to BHEL

GE Steam Power on Tuesday said that it has inked a USD 165 million pact with state-run engineering firm BHEL to supply three nuclear steam turbines.

GE Steam Power has signed a USD 165 million contract with BHEL for the supply of three nuclear steam turbines out of six units for NPCIL's domestic nuclear program- phase 1 being developed at Gorakhpur, Haryana (units - 1 to 4 (GHAVP)) and Kaiga (Kaiga-5&6) Karnataka, a company statement said.

This domestic program includes 12 units of 700 MWe being developed by NPCIL with their 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 more than 14 million homes, it stated.

In 2018, GE and BHEL had signed a business cooperation agreement and a License and Technology Transfer Agreement to enable them to manufacture nuclear steam turbines of 700 MW.

The two companies are well positioned to respond to the country's needs for a lower carbon source of energy.

Supporting the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative launched by the government of India, 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.

"At GE Steam Power, we are proud to partner with BHEL and to continue to support NPCIL and India in its path to a 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," said Frédéric Wiscart, Nuclear New Build Leader for GE Steam Power.

Today, GE's steam turbine technology operates in 50 per cent of the world's nuclear power plants, producing 200 gigawatts (GWs) for the global grid.

The GE Steam Power has supplied nuclear steam turbines in consortium with BHEL for the ongoing NPCIL projects at Kakrapar (KAPP) and Rawatbhatha (RAPP), that will deliver 2,8GW of CO2 free energy once completed.