The Hamriyah Independent Power Project (IPP) is a combined-cycle power plant located in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE). It has a nominal capacity of 1.8GW.
The Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA) developed the project under a build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) scheme, together with co-developers GE Capital, Sumitomo, Shikoku Electric Power and Sharjah Asset Management.
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The investment decision on the project was taken in May 2019. Following financial closure, the co-developers formed the Sharjah Hamriyah Independent Power, a joint venture company to build, own and operate the project. The plant became operational in October 2023.
The Hamriyah IPP is the most efficient gas-fired power station in the Middle East and Africa region and is expected to contribute to a reduction of up to four million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions a year.
It is also the first independent power project in Sharjah and is expected to meet up to 40% of the city’s power needs.
Location
The Hamriyah power plant is located within the Hamriyah power and desalination complex in the Emirate of Sharjah.
It is located just 600m south of Hamriyah port, close to and west of Hamriyah Free Zone on the coastline of the Arabian Gulf.
Hamriyah power plant make-up
The Hamriyah combined-cycle power plant features three 600MW-equivalent power units, each of which is equipped with a gas turbine, heat recovery steam generators and a steam turbine.
The plant features three GE Vernova 9HA.01 gas turbines that power three H84 generators. It is equipped with three STFs-D650 reheat steam turbines, which power three A74 generators.
The gas turbines can be run using natural gas as the primary fuel, while liquefied natural gas (LNG) can be either used as a secondary fuel or as a substitute fuel in the absence of natural gas.
Turbine details
The GE 9HA.01 gas turbines can burn up to 50% of hydrogen by volume when combined with natural gas.
The air-cooled high-efficiency gas turbine has a superior combined-cycle efficiency of more than 64%, resulting in a lower carbon footprint.
The D650 steam turbines use the latest 3D reaction blade technology, state-of-the-art rear stages, and top-notch gland-and-inter-stage sealing. The exhaust configuration of the turbines is designed to be low-level and installed outside, which helps cut the installation cost.
Power transmission
The power generated by the Hamriyah IPP is transmitted to the 220kV Hamriyah substation on the plant’s boundary.
Natural gas supply
The natural gas for the Hamriyah IPP is supplied by the Sharjah National Oil, the oil and gas exploration service of Sharjah, while LNG is supplied by a joint venture of SNOC and German state-owned company, Uniper.
SEWA secured a gas sales agreement with SNOC earlier in 2017 guaranteeing the supply of natural gas to three SEWA power stations, including the Hamriyah power plant.
The Hamriyah project includes an offshore floating storage regasification unit at Hamriyah Port. The FSRU has an LNG storage capacity of approximately 180,000m³ and a gas send-out volume of up to one billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d).
Power purchase agreement
GE Financial Services, an arm of GE Capital, and Sumitomo entered a 25-year power purchase agreement with the municipal government of Sharjah in 2018.
Financing
The estimated investment for the power plant is $1.13bn. It was funded by a consortium of international financial institutions and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
The JBIC provided approximately $555m in financing, while the rest of co-financed by Bank Norinchukin, KfW IPEX Bank, Société Générale, Standard Chartered Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank.
The loan was partly covered by Nippon Export and Investment Insurance, a Japanese insurance corporation owned by the Japanese government.
Tribe Infrastructure acted as co-financial advisor to the sponsors through the financing process down to the first disbursement of the loans.
Contractors involved
Tecnicas Reunidas, an engineering and construction company based in Spain, was awarded the engineering, procurement and construction contract in partnership with GE.
The gas and steam turbines and generators for the Hamriyah IPP were supplied by GE. The company will also provide repair and maintenance services for the plant for 25 years.
