GE backs financing for coal-fired power plants

KARACHI: The New York-based American multinational conglomerate corporation General Electric (GE) backs Pakistan in acquiring foreign financing for its planned coal-fired generation plants, a statement said on Monday.

“GE supports such financing through its long experience in cooperating with Chinese engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors, and by providing technologies manufactured in GE-owned China-based factories, which adhere to the highest global standards of technological excellence,” Dr. Sacha Parneix, Commercial General Manager, Steam Power Systems, GE Power Middle East, North Africa & Turkey (MENAT) told The News in an interview.

“Equipment from these factories is recognized as Chinese content, and therefore fully supported by Chinese financing schemes.”

He said the most of coal-fired power plants worldwide and also in Pakistan was financed primarily by Asian financial institutions. “For instance, in Pakistan, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is a good channel to ensure quick and competitive financing for large coal-fired power plant projects,” added he.

Dr. Parneix further said the GE has been a proud partner in the development of Pakistan’s energy sector for over 50 years, working across the energy mix, including gas, coal, wind, hydro and other sources. “Today, GE-built technologies can generate up to 25 percent of the country’s electricity from a range of fuel sources”.

The power giant’s representative had a high opinion about the government of Pakistan’s diversifying the fuel mix to include liquefied natural gas (LNG), coal, nuclear, wind, solar, hydro and other resources. “It has allowed 10 gigawatts (GW) to be closed and committed, and GE expects the trend to continue and even accelerate as the government aims to add 30 GW by 2025”.

He observed the GE solutions, for the power generation industry in Pakistan and globally, aim to improve plant efficiency at high availability and low environmental footprint, which fit very well with the requirements of the Pakistani government, which include moving away from a costly oil-based, low-efficiency and aged power generation fleet with relatively high emissions.

“We also offer environment control solutions that remove dangerous pollutants from combustion gases before they are released into the atmosphere. Moreover, GE’s Digital Power Plant solutions allow power plant operators to gather sensor data from industrial machines and processes and turn it into actionable intelligence. This intelligence can be used to help monitor equipment health, reduce downtime and improve reliability”, Dr Parneix said.