ENGIE and GE Vernova have partnered to upgrade Pelican Point Power Station in South Australia, boosting the plant’s flexibility and reliability as the state accelerates its shift to renewable energy.
The upgrade, which involved the installation of GE Vernova’s GT13E2 Advanced EnVironmental (AEV) burner, positions the power station to better respond to the needs of a cleaner, more dynamic grid.
Once built for baseload power, Pelican Point is now equipped to operate reliably at low partial loads—making it the first combined cycle power plant in the Asia-Oceania region to achieve this feat.
“This upgrade was about future-proofing our operations—maintaining reliability while enabling flexibility,” said Liam Ellis, General Manager of South Australian Power Generation Assets at ENGIE.
“With GE Vernova, we didn’t just improve performance—we helped strengthen South Australia’s energy future.”
Originally commissioned in 2001, Pelican Point was designed in a traditional 2+1 configuration. But as South Australia has embraced renewables at pace, the station needed to adapt.
Working with GE Vernova, ENGIE implemented the AEV burner upgrade during a planned eight-week outage, avoiding the need for a complete turbine replacement.
The drop-in solution enables smoother fuel staging, lower operational costs through reduced start-stops, and 30 per cent hydrogen-ready capability—ensuring future fuel flexibility. Backed by over 140 million operational hours globally for the GT13E2 fleet, the technology is tried and tested.
With 497 MW of power capacity, Pelican Point now provides around 17 per cent of South Australia’s thermal energy needs with greater resilience and faster response. The 18-month project brought together a FIFO GE Vernova team and over 100 on-site personnel.
It has since been recognised as a finalist in the 2024 South Australia Premier’s Energy and Mining Awards.
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