Hamriyah Independent Power Plant

The Hamriyah independent power plant is a 1.8GW combined-cycle power plant being developed in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE). To be developed within the Hamriyah power and water plant (HWPP) site, the project will be the first independent power project in Sharjah upon completion.

It is being developed by Sharjah Hamriyah Independent Power Company (SHIPCO), a consortium of Sumitomo, Energy Financial Services (a unit of GE Capital), Shikoku Electric Power Company, and Sharjah Asset Management (SAM), a subsidiary of the Sharjah government.

Environmental impact assessment (ESIA) of the independent power plant was approved by the Sharjah Environment and Protected Areas Authority (EPAA) in 2018. The build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) was chosen for the development.

The project will comprise three 600MW units, with the first unit expected to be operational by May 2021. The third and final unit is scheduled for commissioning in 2023.

Hamriyah power plant location and background

The project will be located within the existing Hamriyah power and water plant (HWPP) in the Arabian Gulf coastal town of Hamriyah, Sharjah. It will be developed adjacent to the existing power plant, approximately 600km south of the Hamriyah port.

The existing plant comprises a 500MW open-cycle power plant and a 20MIGD reverse osmosis (RO) plant. It is made up of two 250MW units, which commenced operations in 2006 and 2007 respectively, while the RO plant started operating in 2014.

Hamriyah independent power plant details

Located 150m north-east of the existing Hamriyah project site, the new plant will consist of three GE 9HA.01 gas turbines, three steam turbines, and a heat recovery steam generator. It will also feature an air-cooled generator and a direct cooled condenser to condense steam from the steam turbine.

It will use natural gas/imported LNG as the main fuel, with distillate oil as back-up. The natural gas operation will not consume water, while demineralized water will be injected into the combustion chamber in order to regulate emission levels when operating using oil alone.

The gas turbine will be connected to the heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) by a bypass damper. The bypass exhaust stack provides a high operationally flexible power plant, which allows for simple cycle as well as combined-cycle operation.

The project implements the state-of-the-art triple pressure reheat technology to the water/steam cycle, which feature naturally circulated evaporator sections.

Each dual fuel gas turbine is installed with dry low NO_X combustion system coupled to a hydrogen-cooled generator. The exhaust gas from the gas turbines will be fed to a HRSG linked to a floor-mounted triple-pressure steam turbine.

Transmission of power generated at Hamriyah IPP

Power generated by the Hamriyah IPP will be transmitted to the existing 220kV Hamriyah substation before being transmitted further to the national grid.

Natural gas supply

Sharjah National Oil Corporation (SNCO) will supply natural gas for the Hamriyah independent power project from an offshore floating storage regasification unit (FSRU) located at Hamriyah Port.

Distillate oil will be stored in a tank at the Hamriyah facility.

Off-take of power generated at Hamriyah independent power plant

The Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA) signed a 23.5-year long term power purchase agreement (PPA) with the project sponsor in December 2018 to offtake the generated electricity.

Financing

SHIPCO received capital investment from GE EFS, a US-subsidiary of General Electric (GE).

The power plant also secured a project financing of approximately $1.13bn from Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and a group of private financial institutions.

Of the total financing, JBIC is providing $555m under its Global Facility to Promote Quality Infrastructure Investment for Environmental Preservation and Sustainable Growth (QI-ESG).

The group of financial institutions includes Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, The Norinchukin Bank, Société Générale, and Standard Chartered Bank.

Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI) provided insurance cover of approximately $516m for the loan provided by the private financial institutions.

Contractors involved

Mott MacDonald prepared the ESIA of the project in October 2018. GE, in a consortium with Técnicas Reunidas, was awarded the contract for the execution of the project, in January 2019.

GE will be responsible for the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services of the project and will supply turbines, generators, and HRSGs. It will also provide parts, repairs, and maintenance services for the power generation assets.

Técnicas Reunidas will receive $350m as part of the contract and is responsible for the installation of balance-of-plant equipment.