MRC Group Chooses GE to Help Deliver Reliable Power to Israel

January 16, 2020 | Alternative Energy | Energy Facts Staff Writer | 3min

Across a very dynamic energy landscape in Israel, where the electricity sector reform includes the privatization of power stations, the core of the reform is opening the electricity sector to competition.

MRC group, which acquired the Alon Tavor power plant from Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) last July, today announced a new 15-year services agreement with GE as a leading example of this country-wide energy transformation.

The contract covers parts, repairs, and predictive maintenance solutions for GE’s 9FA unit installed at the 375 Megawatt (MW) Combined Cycle unit, located in the Alon Tavor industrial zone, in the northern Israeli city of Afula, helping increase the long-term availability, reliability, and efficiency of the plant and the electricity it supplies.

In addition, the agreement foresees the gas turbine will be connected to the GE´s Monitoring & Diagnostics (M&D) Center for 24/7 predictive maintenance support. In this center, based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, a team of more than 50 M&D engineers analyzes more than 50,000 operational alarms per year, assisting power plant and industrial operators in enhancing their asset reliability and performance 24/7/365. The contract includes an option for upgrading the turbine with GE’s Advanced Gas Path technology to improve unit’s availability, heat rate, and output.

“The reliability of a turbine impacts the performance of the entire plant” said Mr. Gigi Shlomo CEO of MRC Alon Tavor Power Ltd. “We’re confident in GE technology, and trust GE’s expertise. It was therefore a natural choice for us to turn to GE to help us find the right solution. After examining both operating and capital expenditures, we determined GE’s total plant solution and the use of advanced analytics represented the best option for our plant to improve 9FA gas turbine’s reliability, as well as to lower its operation and maintenance costs”.

We are proud to have been selected by MRC to continue to ensure the reliability, availability and efficiency of its Alon Tavor power plant” said Michael Rechsteiner, Vice President and CEO of GE’s Gas Power business in Europe. “As the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of Alon Tavor’s power island since 2004, when the plant was commissioned, we have been responsible for the reliable operations of the plant’s power generation equipment. We are honored that MRC awarded our expertise and proven execution capabilities with this new agreement”.

GE has supported the development of Israeli’s infrastructure for the last six decades. GE Power Israel is responsible for the maintenance of the power Plants of all of Israel’s largest power producers, Dorad, Dalia Power Energies, OPC Hadera, the IEC (Eshkol and Tzafit sites), Nesher and Delek Ashkelon, who jointly represent 60% of the country’s overall power production capacity.

Yesterday, GE announced it has received another order from Israel Electric Corporation (IEC), the largest generator and supplier of electricity in Israel, for a second 9HA.01 heavy-duty gas turbine. IEC is using GE’s HA gas turbine technology at its Orot Rabin plant, located in Hadera, Israel, as part of the conversion of the existing power station from coal to gas generation.