Speedy project to address power crisis

  Chinese consortium Kaidi has just handed over the Mao Khe thermopower plant to Vinacomin for commercial operation on the back of speedy construction.     After three years construction, on April 12 the $577 million plant covering 70 hectares in north eastern Quang Ninh province’s Dong Trieu district was connected to the national power grid.    The plant took shape in the shortest period of time among thermopower projects in Vietnam.    Mao Khe Thermopower Project Management Unit head Tran Van Giang said in light of the seventh national power development plan, the Mao Khe project was vital in moderating power loading and ensuring national power network safe and stable operation.    The plant employs the world’s latest circulating fluidised bed (CFB) boiler technology and accommodates the largest ever operating single CFB boiler in Vietnam.    “Right at the design stage, the project focused on environmental protection factors. Environmental management body survey results show that SO2, NOx and dust emissions at Mao Khe plant are much more advantageous then the levels under Vietnam’s current emission standards,” said the project’s director Cao Dao Trung.    To deal with wastewater, the plant operates specialised production and household waste-water treatment systems, applying advanced oxidation technology to ensure waste water being properly treated before being discharged to the environment, pursuant to Vietnam’s current standards.    The plant has also applied diverse noise-proof measures to casting minimal impacts on the life of surrounding community.
  “The project strives to make an effective use of low-calorie and poor quality coal sources in Quang Ninh province’s Mao Khe area using its advanced CFB boiler technology. With over 6,500 operating hours every year, the plant is in a position to feed the national power system approximately 2.86 billion KWh annually, helping to offset power shortfall and contributed to ensuring power network safe and stable operation,” said Giang. 
  The Mao Khe Thermal Power Plant is a key project under the government-approved national power master plan.   The investment capital of the plant was arranged by Eximbank of Vietnam, the Export-Import Bank of China, the Bank of China and Paris-based BNP Paribas. 
  The thermal power plant was built by China's Wuhan Kaidi Electric Power Company, Wuhan Kaidi Electric Power Engineering Company and German-based energy group Wulff Deutschland GmbH under an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Vinacomin. 
  Under the 42-month contract, contractors had to complete construction and installation of equipment, from the initial survey to the test run, and handle personnel training and maintenance.
  The plant’s turbine 1 was put into commercial operation on October 1, 2012 one month ahead of schedule, while turbine 2 came on line on January 18, 2013, 3.5 months ahead of schedule. 
  Mao Khe thermopower plant’s inauguration ceremony took place on April 12, 2013 in the coal hub Quang Ninh province, six months ahead of schedule.