Irsching power plant:
Fire protection for the world’s largest gas turbine
For 450 million euros, E.ON Energie and Siemens have established a gas and steam turbine power plant in the Bavarian town of Irsching near Ingolstadt, which sets new benchmarks with respect to capacity and cost-effectiveness. The high-efficiency, combined power plant generates a total output of 845 megawatts – enough to power a city like Cologne with nearly 1 million inhabitants. 340 megawatts of this output are generated by the new Siemens SGT5-8000H gas turbine – the world’s largest and highest capacity gas turbine.
These dimensions present fire protection with new challenges: in the gas turbine area up to 630 ˚C hot surfaces and lubricants come together, representing an enormous fire risk in a relatively small space. Minimax has installed a foam system in the turbine area for the adequate protection of the current pilot turbines still running on open-cycle operation. After the conclusion of the test phase in 2009, the gas turbines will receive a soundproof hood and the fire protection systems will be replaced: in future, a CO2 area protection system within the turbine housing will guarantee safety. It nips incipient fires – without limiting the turbine’s ability to function.
In addition to the gas turbine, Minimax’s fire protection solutions will also be used in the rest of the power plant. Fire reporting and gas warning systems ensure that fires are detected within seconds. The switchgears are protected by CO2 low-pressure systems which fight fires without having any lasting negative impact on the sensitive plant. Transformers and cable distribution points are likewise particularly subject to damage by fire. In emergencies, fire can be expected to spread quite rapidly in these areas. In order to extinguish fire as efficiently as possible and to prevent it spreading to other areas, the objects are protected by Minimax spray deluge systems. Numerous external and internal fire hydrants have been installed for rapid manual fire extinguishing measures.