CFE orders plant modification

Alstom and consortium partner Iberdrola have signed a contract with Mexico’s state-owned utility Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) to modernise the Laguna Verde nuclear power plant.

The total order value is estimated at approximately €470m, of which Alstom’s share is around €150m.

Alstom’s scope of supply is for the full retrofit of two steam turbines, each with one high pressure and two low pressure cylinders, and the supply of new generators. Consortium leader Iberinco, the engineering and construction business of the Iberdrola Group, will supply the balance of plant.

According to Alstom, the project will increase the current installed capacity of the plant by 20%, from 1,350 to 1,634 MW. The work will begin immediately and is scheduled for completion by 2010.

Laguna Verde is Mexico’s only nuclear power plant, and the refurbishment work is part of CFE’s strategy of optimising all its energy resources and maintaining a diversified and independent energy supply in the country.