A new power plant replacement project in Samut Prakan, scheduled to open in 2019, is expected to have the highest power efficiency in Thailand, driven by two advanced Siemens gas turbines.
The combined-cycle power facility is meant to generate 1,200 megawatts and power about 1.5 million households.
The SGT5-8000H engines that will power the Samut Prakan facility are of the same class as those operating at the Fortuna unit of Lausward power station in Dusseldorf, Germany, said Markus Lorenzini, president and chief executive of Siemens Ltd Thailand.
There are only 88 similar engines in use worldwide.
"The H-class engines are expected to arrive this year," Mr Lorenzini said. "When it becomes operational, it will be the most efficient power plant in Thailand for sure."
The plant will consist of two SGT5-8000H units, the country's first of that kind, arranged in a single-shaft configuration designed for high operational performance and flexibility with short startup times.
The SGT-8000H series is known for its high efficiency of 61.5%, which was measured in 2016 at the Fortuna unit. That exceeded the record of 60.75% set by Ulrich Hartmann's combined-cycle unit at Irsching power station in southern Germany.
Mr Lorenzini, who's been based in Thailand for four years, said high-efficiency power plants will play an increasing role in the country's energy sector, and Siemens has been working on a global scale to achieve higher efficiency.
Efficiency has two benefits: keeping energy prices lower and contributing to reduced carbon emissions.
"We have the right product portfolio, which is beneficial to the country as well as to investors," Mr Lorenzini said.
Siemens has had success in the Thai market, supplying 30% of installed capacity -- including in renewables, with the biggest inshore wind farms in Nakhon Ratchasima, according to Mr Lorenzini.
The company and its partners have also built the Chana 1, Bang Pakong 5, Chana 2 and Wang Noi 4 combined-cycle projects for the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand over the past decade.
Markus Lorenzini (right), president and CEO of Siemens Ltd Thailand, with Chotipol Changcharoen, senior vice-president for power and gas.
Early last year, Siemens and Japanese consortium partner Marubeni Corp signed a US$550-million contract with Egat for delivery of a turnkey combined-cycle power plant in southern Bangkok.
With HL-class technology on the horizon, Siemens hopes to offer and supply the latest HL-class gas turbines to the local market at the next opportunity.
"At the end of the day, the aim of the country is also to give power production the highest efficiency, which [means] low costs," Mr Lorenzini said. "And everyone contributes to the carbon footprint. Having the latest stage of technology makes sense cost-wise and environment-wise."
Chotipol Changcharoen, senior vice-president for power and gas at Siemens Ltd Thailand, said Siemens is also building up services support alongside technology development to support customers in Thailand.
The aim is to give clients flexibility in terms of maintenance and ensure the reliability of the machines, he said.
According to Mr Chotipol, the digital transformation has been prioritised by Siemens and will play a key role in the development of future power generation.
"It's all about how we deal with big data and how we collect the data and utilise it properly," he said. "On the power generation services side, we collect data from the machines under operation and use it to make power plants more reliable."
Mr Lorenzini said data not only bolsters preventive maintenance schemes, but also contributes to the development of technology without requiring a trial-and-error phase.
Siemens executives say the company is well-equipped to meet the challenges of the dynamic market environment in the wake of disruptive renewables and has solutions to maintain the stability of the grid.
"We can support in any direction where they go, with large turbines, biomass or wind power, due to our varied portfolio," Mr Chotipol said.
During a site visit earlier this month at the Fortuna unit, Martin Grosse-Dresselhaus, a project manager at Siemens, called the combined-cycle power plant a solution to the challenge posed by renewables after Germany decided to phase out nuclear and shift to resources like wind and solar.
"You need the right the technology to do that [covering fluctuations of renewables]," he said. The startup time of less than 25 minutes offers flexibility when load changes are required.
The Fortuna unit, operated by Stadtwerke Dusseldorf (SWD), supplies power and water to the city and is well-known for its district heating.
Mr Grosse-Dresselhaus, who was also responsible for erection commissioning at Fortuna, said the additional heating benefit should not hinder warm-weather countries from investing in a combined-cycle system.
There are more ways than one to make use of the heat given off.
"Heating is not the only way to consume heat," Mr Grosse-Dresselhaus said. "You can make use of the waste heat as processed heat required for chemical processing."
A 40-minute drive from Dusseldorf, south of Cologne, there is a big chemical hub where waste heat is used in chemical processing, he said.
If the country has a heating infrastructure, the waste heat can be used to supply warm water.
There may be a case where setting up a combined-cycle power plant just for electrical output will provide a proper return on investment without requiring those additional benefit, Mr Grosse-Dresselhaus said.
"But there are other benefits of a combined power plant without that additional benefit," he said. "It is always a matter of business. It is always calculation. We are working hard to get that efficiency, even further up to make better electrical use of the fuel."