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Iraq and GE Vernova complete plants upgrade

6 February 2025

US-headquartered energy technology provider GE Vernova has completed the upgrades of “several key” power plants in Iraq.

The firm and the Iraqi Ministry of Electricity (MoE) announced the upgrade’s completion on 5 February.

The overall upgrade project, which GE Vernova previously announced, covers 46 gas turbines across 12 power plants, adding up to 500MW to Iraq’s national grid before the summer of 2025.

They did not specify which power plants have completed upgrade works.  

According to GE, some of the power plants included in this project already transitioned from heavy fuel oil (HFO) to natural gas, with a capacity increase of approximately 260MW. These plants include Ninawa, Al-Diwaniyah, Hilla, Karbala, Shat Al-Basra, Najibiya, Samawa, Dhiqar, Al-Khairat and Al-Haidariya.

GE Vernova added: “The other plants are expected to be modernised within the summer of 2025, with an expected additional increase in capacity of approximately 250MW.

“This modernisation is expected to improve operational flexibility and boost output, efficiency and availability of the power generation assets.”

In addition, the firm announced the successful installation of its Advanced Gas Path (AGP) upgrades on several 9. E gas turbines powering the Al-Quds and Dhiqar power plants, and MXLII upgrades on 13E2 gas turbines powering the Al-Mansouriya power plant.

According to GE Vernova, the expected output increases of up to 6% for each power plant will enable the MoE to generate more electricity using the same amount of fuel.

In addition, as part of the services and upgrade agreement announced in 2024 with the MoE to enhance the availability of power plants across the country, GE Vernova completed comprehensive maintenance projects across several of these power plants, corresponding to a total capacity of 3.7GW.

These power plants include Qayyarah, Diwaniyah, Al-Haydariyah and Baghdad South. 

Iraq periodically suffers from power outages, especially during the summer months, when increased cooling requirements overwhelm its power plants and electricity grid.  

READ THE FEBRUARY MEED BUSINESS REVIEW

Trump unleashes tech opportunities; Doha achieves diplomatic prowess and economic resilience; GCC water developers eye uptick in award activity in 2025.

Published on 1 February 2025 and distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the February MEED Business Review includes:

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