Atlanta, GA, May 16, 2006 -- Marking the largest power system study in the company''s history, GE Energy has been awarded a contract for an electrical distribution system study that will support a major expansion project for a Brazilian steel mill.
GE is performing the study for CST Arcelor Brasil, the world''s largest producer of steel slabs, and Sol Coqueria Tubarao Ltda (SCT) of Espirito Santo, Brazil, a joint venture with Sun Coke of Knoxville, TN. The companies are launching a multiyear expansion program to increase the output of their steel mill from 5 to 7.5 million tons per year.
The CST Arcelor Brasil electrical power system uses gases produced in the steel-making process for fuel. Presently, four in-plant generators are supplying nearly 300 megawatts of power; the addition of two generators will bring the total capacity to nearly 500 megawatts. Major loads include three blast furnaces, air separation plants, a hot strip mill, coking, sintering, continuous casting, pretreatment, and converting. The surplus power is supplied to ESCELSA, the local utility.
The scope of the GE study will include:
- short circuit study of the plant''s 138 kV, 13.8 kV, and 3.45 kV electrical distribution systems
- protective device application appraisal and coordination study
- load flow and transient stability analysis
- load-shedding system parameter evaluation
- conceptual design of the electrical distribution system for expansion of the hot strip mill
- study of power plant dispatch under conditions of separation from the electric power grid.
The project will include engineering meetings in both Brazil and the United States to discuss technical issues. The study began with a kickoff meeting at CST in Brazil on March 20, 2006, and will be completed by the end of the year.
"We are very pleased that CST Arcelor Brasil has selected GE to perform an electrical systems study of such scope and importance," said Dan Heintzelman, president of GE Energy''s services business. "It takes a long and well-established relationship between a supplier and a customer to build the confidence and the knowledge base necessary to undertake a venture of this magnitude."