UK gas turbine packaging specialist Centrax has installed a 12 MW CHP unit in the French town of Versailles, which represents its first commissioning of a Siemens CX400 package.
The gas turbine unit is now meeting 40% of the hot water demand of the town, on the outskirts of Paris, while also producing electricity for sale to French power utility EDF.
The CHP installation at Versailles is the first Siemens gas turbine to be packaged by Centrax since the two companies forged a recent agreement that enables Centrax to market the SGT-300 and -400 gas turbines in the UK, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium.
Besides its technical benefits, the CX400 also gives Centrax the commercial advantage of providing the greatest power output and energy efficiency below the 12 MW cap imposed on co-generation projects in France. This allows French energy producer COFELY, parent company of Versailles operator Verséo, to maximise its revenue by exporting 12 MW of power across the ambient temperature range during a contracted operating time of 3600 hours per year.
