General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) has announced several milestones made with its Advanced Gas Path (AGP) solution. Among the milestones is a partnership with the Saudi Cement from Saudi Arabia to expand the technology to the fifth GE gas turbine fleet, the 6B. This will also mark the first installation of AGP in the cement industry. The company’s win Ohgishma Power is also the first win with the 9F AGP technology in Japan.

Improving flexibility and efficiency

In a statement, GE’s Power Services business president and CEO Scott Strazik said the company has installed 435 units of the revolutionary AGP technology since 2010. He added that they are expanding the AGP solution to GE 6B gas turbines in a move aimed at increasing output and availability on the fifth gas turbine type. Strazik said that several industrial application demand a lot of flexibility, efficiency and more megawatt and the AGP technology will help the cement industry to increase power capacity.

In the deal, GE is expected to upgrade Saudi Cement’s three GE 6B gas turbines at the Hofuf plant. This will be the first time that GE is applying the AGP solution to strengthen power generation for the cement industry.

Increasing power production

Following the upgrade, Saudi Cement is expected to increase its power production and efficiency while at the same time reducing its dependence on the national grid for power supply. This is in line with Saudi Arabia’s move towards having a diversified economy. The AGP upgrade is expected to increase power output across the three turbines by up to 16.9%.

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Saudi Cement CEO Mohammed AlGarni in a statement said that power is one of main ingredients and one of the leading costs in their manufacturing process. He added that having a reliable and efficient power supply is very important to maintain continuous operations of the production plant as well as increasing the competitiveness of the facility. AlGarni says that the Advanced Gas Path upgrade from GE will enable them to improve efficiency in their operations and become self-depended in terms of supply of power.

GE has also announced signing a $52 million agreement with Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) for installation of the AGP technology on three GE 9E gas turbines located at the Jebel Ali Power & Desalination Station.