Siemens celebrates 1,000 gas turbines from Berlin: electricity for one billion people

Today, the Siemens gas turbine factory in Berlin is shipping its 1,000th gas turbine manufactured at the plant. The SGT5-4000F gas turbine, which has a capacity of 300 megawatts (MW), weighs 300 metric tons and is destined for the Umm al Houl combined cycle power plant in Qatar. The total installed capacity of the 1,000 gas turbines produced in Berlin, amounting to nearly 220 gigawatts (GW), would be sufficient to theoretically supply approximately one billion people* with electricity. The total capacity of the 1,000 gas turbines is thus equivalent to the installed power generating capacity of Spain and Italy.

“1,000 Siemens gas turbines from Berlin for customers in 65 countries around the world – we have good reason to be proud of this achievement,” said Willi Meixner, CEO of the Siemens Power and Gas Division. “This huge volume is only possible because Siemens supplies the global market and continuously drives the competitive further development of its products forward.” More than 90 percent of the 1,000 gas turbines produced in Berlin have been exported. Ever since it shipped its first gas turbine in 1972, the Berlin gas turbine factory has been a reliable partner with extensive expertise and today continues to provide its customers with the right solutions for their needs.

As it embarks on its journey to Qatar, the gas turbine will first be shipped from the factory to Berlin’s Westhafen port. From there, it will travel by barge to Rotterdam. Upon arriving at the seaport, the gas turbine will be loaded onto a heavy cargo vessel. It will pass through the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea via Gibraltar. The machine will then enter the Red Sea through the Suez Canal, round the Arabian Peninsula, and finally reach Qatar.

The gas turbine is one of a total of six SGT5-4000F turbines for the Umm al Houl combined cycle power plant. Siemens is supplying key components for this plant installing power plant systems there with a total capacity of 2.5 GW. In addition to electricity, the integrated seawater desalinization plant produces up to 618 million liters of drinking water per day for the people of Qatar. Siemens has also signed a 25-year service agreement for the plant’s maintenance and servicing. The power plant is scheduled to go into operation mid-2018.

The Berlin turbine factory was founded in 1904. Initially producing steam turbines, the factory shipped its first gas turbine for power plants in 1972, which was delivered to Electricity Trust of South Australia. The first Siemens ETSA 1 gas turbine from Berlin had a capacity of 62.5 MW. It is still in standby operation today and has its original turbine and compressor blades. Since then, gas turbine technology has undergone rapid development. Gas turbines uniquely combine classic heavy machinery construction with ultramodern production technology, such as additive manufacturing, for example. Components – from extremely heavy to tiny – are assembled using the most advanced methods and with clockwork precision. It takes the engineers and technicians several months to produce one gas turbine. The result, in the case of H-class turbines, is a machine with a capacity in the 400 MW range. This power is sufficient to supply a city of 2.4 million people with electricity. The capacity of a single H-class gas turbine is equal to that of 1,300 Porsche 911 turbos or ten Airbus 380 aircraft.