Siemens Wins 3rd Turbine Order from Belarus

Germany's Siemens has secured a third gas turbine order from Belarus in three months, this time for five SGT-800 gas turbines, along with associated auxiliary and electrical systems, it said March 16. They will be part of a 254-MW peak load and backup power plant in the former Soviet republic.

The new plant will be built at the site of the existing Berezovskaya combined heat and power station in Beloozersk, in southwest Belarus, and will be operated by local utility Brestenergo. It is due online in December 2021 and will support stable electricity supplies in the country.

Earlier contracts were for five turbines for two peak load and back-up plants in the Vitebsk region and for six more for a similar station in Minsk. The facilities are designed for 700 operating hours and 350 cold starts/year.

Belarus produces almost all its electricity using gas, which it received at a discounted rate from Russia. However, earlier this month the government announced that a nuclear power plant it has built with Russian support is now ready to operate. The station's first 1.2-GW reactor is due to start up this year, while its second is scheduled for launch in 2021.