GE Power, a division of GE, has completed, ahead of schedule, the digital transformation of Kuwait Ministry of Electricity and Water’s Sabiya Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) Power Station.
This will help to make the site’s operations more reliable, while contributing to its enhanced performance at lower, more sustainable costs, said a statement from the company.
The project marks the first time that GE’s Predix-based software applications for industry are being used in Kuwait, it said.
Eng Mohammed Boshehri, undersecretary of Kuwait’s Ministry of Electricity and Water, said: “Our goal is to support the nation’s focus on strengthening the energy infrastructure and helping achieve Vision 2035 to transform Kuwait into a regional leader in all sectors.”
“Delivering reliable power and ensuring that we have highly productive power assets is key in accomplishing our goals. The digital transformation of Sabiya CCGT, using GE’s advanced digital technologies, aims to further strengthen resource utilisation and productivity,” he said.
Several plant assets at Sabiya CCGT, including combustion turbines, hydrogen-cooled generators, heat recovery steam generators, steam turbines and condensers, among others, were brought onto GE’s Asset Performance Management (APM) software application.
The software leverages advanced data analytics to predict and reduce unplanned downtime, improving power plant availability and output.
As part of the digital migration, GE installed APM’s machine and equipment health module, reliability management module and Monitoring and diagnostics services.
Joseph Anis, president and CEO of GE’s Power Services business in the Middle East and Africa (MEA), said: “The digital transformation of Sabiya CCGT Power Station highlights our commitment to help unlock the true potential of Kuwait’s power infrastructure.”
“Digitising power plants presents an opportunity for both growth and cost savings and we are proud to have completed this landmark project ahead of schedule to increase the plant’s uptime and enhance its performance,” he said.
APM is built on GE’s Predix, a data platform purpose-designed for the scale and complexity of industrial data.
The APM solution enables the Kuwaiti Ministry of Electricity and Water to boost asset reliability and availability at Sabiya CCGT by leveraging the power of the Industrial Internet – the integration of big data analytics with heavy machinery.
The connected machines, equipped with data sensors, collect vast amounts of information into a centralised and secured data platform. The analysis of this data provides insights to predict and diagnose equipment problems before they happen, thus reducing unplanned downtime.
The project builds on GE’s strong legacy of contributions towards the development of Kuwait’s power generation sector.
GE’s investments in Kuwait include the GE Kuwait Technology Center, which serves three core areas for energy sector customers across the Middle East and Africa: training, tooling and engineering.
GE technologies deliver over a third of Kuwait’s power today and the company creates employment for more than 250 people in the country, it stated.