Saudi- GE provides power conversion technology to Yanbu 3 plant

(MENAFN- Arab News) GE's Power Conversion business will provide the electrical variable speed drive (eVSD) system technology including motors and MV7000 drives to help power the new Yanbu 3 power and desalination plant in Saudi Arabia. The systems from GE will increase the efficiency of the desalination plant reducing the amount of energy needed to run the desalination process as well as the overall cost. Saline Water Conversion Corporation (SWCC) is building the Yanbu 3 power and water treatment facility on the Red Sea coast about 200 km north of Jeddah to provide 2700 megawatts (MW) of reliable electricity and 550000 m3/day of clean water for eight million residents and businesses in the region. 'A growing population alongside strong growth in industry makes meeting the region's energy and water needs one of our greatest challenges. GE provides us with a reliable economical scalable and efficient infrastructure and its focus on exceptional customer care means we can confidently meet the Kingdom's utility needs now and in future' said Abdul Hadi Al-Sheikh deputy governor and project director of SWCC. GE is supplying its MV7000 eVSD drive and electric motor equipment to pumps manufacturer KSB and its customer local engineering procurement and construction company Al-Toukhi. The equipment will be used to power the boiler feed pumps at SWCC's new Yanbu 3 facility. The scope of supply includes 15 induction motors (17.1 MW each) 15 input transformers (23MVA) and 15 medium voltage (MV) variable frequency drives (VFD) 18 MW each.GE's eVSDs offers plant operators four key benefits over conventional equipment. 'Our research has shown that an eight percent increase in energy efficiency will help save the region SR50 billion over 10 years' said Sandro Malquori GM MENA and Turkey for GE's Power Conversion business.