GE Oil & Gas to Supply Steam Turbine Power to Nippon Paper Mill in Washington


Florence, Italy, 15 February 2011A new green energy cogeneration plant at the Nippon Paper Industries USA pulp and paper mill in Port Angeles, Washington, USA, will feature a steam turbine generator supplied by GE Oil & Gas and powered by residue from local timber operations to generate 20 megawatts of power, becoming the first biomass project in the Port Angeles region.

“Federal and state incentives for renewable energy produced from biomass applications, Washington state government support from legislators, Department for Natural Resources, and Department of Commerce, along with strong community support have enabled this project to move forward," said Harold Norlund, mill manager Nippon Paper Industries USA. Advanced steam turbine technology "will make our paper mill operations more efficient and sustainable, helping to reduce overall air pollution by producing power from forestry biomass,” he said.

“The Nippon Paper Industries USA Port Angeles project demonstrates the capability of GE Oil & Gas’ advanced steam turbines to use a diverse fuel mix, including forestry byproducts. In addition to paper mills, the range of applications for this technology includes sugar mills, refineries and petrochemical processing plants, electric power generation and the marine industry, as well as conventional mechanical drive applications in the oil and gas industry,” said Joe Mastrangelo, vice president - Turbomachinery, GE Oil & Gas.

The steam turbine will be manufactured at the Thermodyn unit of GE Oil & Gas in Le Creusot, France, and will be shipped to the project site in February 2012, with commercial operation scheduled for later that year. The plant will produce power and steam for use in the pulp and paper mill, with excess electricity sold to local power companies.

GE Oil & Gas (www.ge.com/oilandgas) is a world leader in advanced technology equipment and services for all segments of the oil and gas industry, from drilling and production, LNG, pipelines and storage to industrial power generation, refining and petrochemicals. GE Oil & Gas also provides pipeline integrity solutions, including inspection and data management, and design and manufacture wire-line and drilling measurement solutions for the oilfield services segment. GE Oil & Gas exploits technological innovation from other GE businesses, such as aviation and healthcare, to continuously improve oil and gas industry performance and productivity. GE Oil & Gas employs more than 12,000 people worldwide and operates in more than 100 countries.