Beyond generating electricity by so-called “conventional” power plants, ENGIE operates combined cycle and cogeneration plants which use natural gas, resulting in diversified electricity production with a low level of CO2 emissions. These plants provide improved energy efficiency, help secure the power supply and allow a very rapid response to peaks in electricity consumption.
ENGIE operates a diversified range of assets that ensure a secure and reliable supply of electricity as well as increasingly low-carbon sources of energy, such as natural gas and renewable energies. For ENGIE, this entails more than merely a transition; it is an energy revolution.
The thermal electricity supplied by ENGIE in numerous countries is based on a variety of technologies:
Initially, gas is injected into the combustion turbine. It generates steam, which is then supplied to another turbine. The combustion turbine and steam turbine work in tandem to turn one or more alternators, which produce electricity.
Gas turbine and turbojets: the compressor draws in air, compresses it and injects it into the combustion chamber. Natural gas (gas turbine) or kerosene (turbojet) is injected into the chamber to be burned. The hot combustion gases rotate the turbine, which drives an alternator to produce electricity.
Co-generation: a gas-powered generator drives an alternator that produces electricity. Heat recovered from the cooling of the motor and the combustion gases heats a water circuit thanks to heat exchangers.
ENGIE is aiming to be a leader in the energy transition. The Group’s strategy is based on the development of businesses with low carbon emissions, gas infrastructures and integrated solutions designed for its customers.
ENGIE is restructuring its portfolio of businesses, and is progressively divesting assets involving coal-fired generation. The Group is repositioning its thermal power plants towards gas and cogeneration, complementing its development in renewable energies. Combined cycle gas plants contribute to ensuring the stability of the grid during peaks in electricity consumption (e.g. in severe freeze-ups) or when there are falls in the production of renewable energies, which are by nature intermittent (hydroelectricity, solar, wind, biomass and geothermal).
A flexible, efficient fuel that is easy to store and transport, natural gas will be required to play a major part in electricity supply in a period of heavy demand. It is the cleanest fossil fuel, with CO2 emissions half those of coal. ENGIE is involved in all phases of the natural gas chain. Thanks to its great proficiency and expertise in the cycle, it is able to work on improving both the energy efficiency and environmental performance of natural gas.