Mitsubishi Power has announced the start of operations at the Rades C combined cycle power plant in Tunisia, owned by local power company Société Tunisienne de l’Electricité et du Gaz (STEG).

Rades C is located about 10km east of the Tunisian capital, Tunis, and provides approximately 10% of the country’s current installed capacity.

The 450MW plant was developed by a Mitsubishi Power-led consortium and partner Sumitomo Corporation. The plant was built to increase power generating capacity in Tunisia and boost stable supply of electricity.

Furthermore, Rades C was designed to maximise energy efficiency with lower CO2 emissions and has been fitted with hydrogen-ready gas turbine technology that can be easily converted to H2 firing with minimal modifications.

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STEG CEO Hichem Anene said in a statement: “Electricity is a cornerstone of economic development, and the Rades C power plant will play a key role in accelerating Tunisia’s growth for decades to come. We want to thank Mitsubishi Power and all consortium partners for this landmark project that will help us meet our energy demand today with reliable, clean and efficient power across the country…”

For this plant, Mitsubishi Power supplied an M701F gas turbine, steam turbine, heat recovery steam generator and an onsite technical team to support construction.

Also, Mitsubishi Power will support STEG with the maintenance of the power plant under a long-term service agreement.

Hideshi Kawamoto, president and CEO of Mitsubishi Power Ltd. commented: “The Rades C combined cycle power plant reflects Mitsubishi Power’s long-term commitment to Tunisia, where our advanced technology has supported STEG to expand the country’s power capacity over the last four decades. As STEG celebrates its 60th anniversary, we look forward to continue working with them to help power the country’s sustainable development goals for many decades to come, with our future-ready solutions that lead the world in efficiency and reliability.”

The project was financed by the Japanese Official Development Assistant and organised by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) under the Japanese government’s Partnership for Quality Infrastructure initiative.

Mitsubishi Power also supplied the gas and oil-fired boilers and steam turbines for Rades A, a 340MW power plant located in the same power station as Rades C.

The Rades A power plant has been successfully operational since 1985.

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