His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, UAE Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, visited the under construction 1.8 gigawatts (GW) Hamriyah Independent Power Plant (IPP) for a tour of the facility and an overview of the progress made to date on the project.

Co-developers GE Energy Financial Services and Japan’s Sumitomo Corporation signed an approximately 25years power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Sharjah Electricity, Water and Gas Authority (SEWA) in 2018 to develop, build and operate the plant. Following financial close in 2019, co-developers along with Shikoku Electric Power Company and Sharjah Asset Management,the investment arm of the Sharjah Government, formed a joint venture company – SHIPCO – to build, own and operate the project, which is the first independent combined cycle power plant in Sharjah.GE Gas Power is providing turnkey engineering, construction and procurement (EPC) services and supplying three 9HA.01 gas turbines, six generators and three heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) for the facility. It will also provide parts, repairs and maintenance services for power generation assets at the site for approximately 25 years.

“We are grateful for the guidance and support of His Highness Sheikh Dr.Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi and committed to achieving SEWA’s 2030 Roadmap to boost the installed power generation capacity in Sharjah to 4,600 megawatts,” said Saeed Sultan Al Suwaidi, Chairman of SEWA.“The Hamriyah IPP is a key component to meeting this goal and is expected to generate up to almost 40 percent of Sharjah’s power output when it is complete.”

Omar Al Mulla, Chairmanof SHIPCO, said, “We are delighted to develop a project that will enhance Sharjah’s energy independence and set a new standard for the region’s utilities sector. GE’s H-class gas turbines have helped to set two world records for combined cycle efficiency already and we are pleased to bring this technology to the UAE. Once complete, the project is expected to be the most efficient power plant in the Middle East’s utilities sector. In fact, using three GE 9HA.01 units in combined cycle operations can help SEWA reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 4 million tons per year, compared to current levels – the equivalent of taking 1 million cars off the UAE’s roads.”

“At GE, we have been honoured to support the development of Sharjah’s power sector over the years. Today, there are over 20 GE gas turbines in service in Sharjah that can help meet at least 60 percent of the emirate’s power demand,” said Joseph Anis, President and CEO of GE Gas Power Europe, Middle East and Africa. “We are committed to building on this legacy further by helping to set up the Hamriyah IPP. The project will contribute towards both SEWA’s 2030 Roadmap and the UAE Energy Strategy 2050 by adding more efficient power and reducing the carbon footprint of each megawatt hour of electricity generated in Sharjah compared to present levels.”

To date, more than 1,500 people from over 20 countries have been mobilized for the Hamriyah IPP project, putting in over 7 million person hours already. Together, they have completed almost all the civil works, up to 90 percent of the procurement and over 75 percent of construction and commissioning works at the project.