Alstom has completed the implementation of the first M-upgrades on two GT11N2 gas turbines installed in Central Geradora Termelétrica Fortaleza (CGTF), a combined-cycle power plant owned by Enel located in the northeast of Brazil. The upgrades were successfully implemented within the 30 days window of a regular major scheduled outage, part of a contract award to Alstom in 2013 for maintenance of gas turbines, including support on site and remote support for all types of inspections until 2023.

The M-upgrade is a product developed by Alstom that enhances power output, efficiency and availability of the gas turbine in a flexible way through extended intervals between outages. In the case of CGTF, the product increased the capacity by more than 8MW for each gas turbine.

“This is an important milestone for us since it is not only about the conclusion of another successful outage in Fortaleza, but also the first time that a company does this type of upgrade in Brazil. The completion of this task reinforces that our technology and technical support will ensure high availability of the plant with a safe and reliable operation”, commented Michael Rechsteiner, Senior Vice President of Alstom Thermal Services.

Alstom has a long contribution to the Brazilian market for power generation. In addition to CGTF (Enel) plant, Alstom has supplied similar equipment and services for other gas fired power plants such as UTE Leonel Brizola, UTE Fernando Gasparian and Celso Furtado (Petrobras) and for CSA Siderúrgica do Atlântico (ThyssenKrupp).