According to the World Economic Forum in 2016, the digitalization of the electricity market will create an opportunity of US$ 1.3 trillion through the use of online platforms, the use of Cloud Computing and Industrial Internet facilities by 2025.
Turkey is investing in this digitalization of the electricity market in order to increase the efficiency of the use of natural gas which represents 33% of the energy mix.
GE and GAMA Holding have been working closely on new plant investments, long-term maintenance projects, combined cycle, thermal and renewable power plants since the last 15 years.
As a first digitalization project in 2015, GE announced that a 20-year contractual service agreement (CSA) was signed with GAMA Energy for an 840-megawatt Central Anatolian Natural Gas Combined Cycle Power Plant in Kırıkkale in the Central Anatolian region. Through this agreement, the industrial cloud software applications will improve predictability, planning optimization, lower production costs and asset production forecasting competence for the first time in Turkey.
The digital solutions of GE’s industrial Internet operating system, Predix™ such as Asset Performance Management (APM) and Operation Optimization (OO) will be set up to be launched in the first quarter of 2017.
Sıtkı Şerifeken, Member and General Manager of GAMA Energy Board declared: “We are proud to be the first company in Turkey to make the transition to the first digital power plant. Considering that GE’s industrial expertise in energy, its digital competencies and our 15-year business alliance, we believe that these new solutions will reduce our maintenance costs and increase operational efficiencies in the plant. ”
Murat Demirel, General Manager of GE Energy Services East Europe and Turkey said that the work interruption due to unplanned maintenances in power plants correspond to 3-8% of the power plant capacity. “The GE Asset Performance Management solution will save up to 3 million dollars per year through the early detection of unplanned downtime “.
Note: The Central Anatolia Natural Gas Combined Cycle Power Plant meets 2.5% of the electricity consumed in Turkey and more than 50% of the electricity consumed in Ankara.
