OREANDA-NEWS. February 28, 2012. Lietuvos Energija AB has taken an important step towards the exploitation of the new 455 MW combined cycle unit. This week the unit was connected to the transmission system operator’s distributor. The unit’s final testing cycle, which will take six months, will commence shortly, after which the contractor will hand the unit over to the company’s specialists.

According to Lietuvos Energija CEO Dalius Misiunas, preparation for testing of the combined cycle unit went smoothly and was completed on schedule; this was ensured by successful and close cooperation with transmission system operator Litgrid and the State Energy Inspectorate. “The unit was successfully connected to the distributor which was previously used to transfer electricity produced in the fourth unit, which is no longer being used. We have created all conditions necessary for launching the new unit. We are 100% prepared, both technologically, and from the standpoint of human resources,“ he said.

According to Mr. Misiunas, testing of the new unit will begin before the start of spring. “During testing, the power grid will be used to test the unit‘s requisite equipment, and the electric that is produced in the unit will be returned to the grid. Approximately 400 million kWh of electrical energy are expected to be produced, or 5 percent of Lithuania’s total electric demand. This is a particularly weighty and important process, on which the further operation of the unit will depend,” said the CEO of Lietuvos Energija.

During connection of the combined cycle unit to the power grid, a cable canal was installed and lined with cables that connect the new unit’s automation and control equipment to Litgrid’s distributor. The distributer itself was also renovated – it was fitted with control and transmission system security equipment. The new unit’s security, automation and registration equipment was also installed and fine-tuned. Specialists from Lietuvos Energija and the transmission system operator Litgrid worked in close cooperation in implementing the connection.

Testing of the unit will be supervised by the Combined Cycle Unit Service, a newly formed team of specialists who have worked at the Lithuanian Power Plant for many years. When testing is completed in July, it is this team that exploitation of the combined cycle unit will be handed over to.  It is expected that the unit will begin operation this autumn.

The new unit will replace units 3 and 4 of the Lithuanian Power Plant, which were built in the 1950’s; the new unit will increase the Lithuanian Power Plant’s production capacity, reliability and efficiency, and will reduce the cost of electricity generation. The new unit will require approximately 30% less gas to produce a kilowatt-hour, and it is also environmentally superior – it will allow for the reduction of heat exhaust into the lake as well as air pollution.

An agreement concerning the construction of the combined cycle unit was signed with Spanish concern Iberdrola Ingenieria y Construccion, S.A.U. in the end of April, 2009.