MDT Image Magazine

Power Plants
Africa – like here
in Nairobi, expansion
of the economy is
accompanied by a rising
energy demand.
Continent of opportunities
As the second-largest continent, Africa is home to over a billion people – with a fast-growing
economy and a rising energy demand.
It is predicted that many African states will
generate important growth stimuli for the
global economy in the future. The need to
catch up with the rest of the world is huge, especially
in the energy sector: the International
Energy Agency (IEA) estimates African electricity
consumption at 500 kWh per capita, equivalent to
a fifth of the global average.
Africa is already by now a strong sales market for
MAN Diesel & Turbo. In 2013 alone, the company
received orders for power plants to the value of
over 100 million euros. The first MAN gas power
plant in Africa was handed over to a customer in
Gabon. The plant’s generators are driven by four
51/60DF engines operating in gas mode.
Another technological debut will be achieved
on the continent in the course of 2014 when the
first diesel combined cycle power plant from
MAN on the African continent is transferred to
the client. At the plant in Thika, Kenya, five
18V48/60 engines and one MAN MARC 2 steam
turbine will deliver 88 MW of electrical power.
The steam turbine uses the exhaust heat of the
engines to generate 6.8 MW, equivalent to nine
percent more electrical energy, from the same
quantity of fuel.
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