Rolls-Royce announced today that it will supply two Trent 60 gas turbines for a new power station near Budapest, Hungary, increasing the number of power stations in service or in development in Central and Eastern Europe using the Trent to 18.

During 2008, Rolls-Royce won orders for 19 Trent 60 engines from operators in Central and Eastern Europe, the US and Australasia, making it the most successful year for the engine.

Including reservations for an additional 18 engines received in 2008, the number of Trent 60s sold or reserved by operators now totals 57 in 17 countries, for both power generation and oil and gas installations, with 24 engines in service in eight countries.

The latest order for Hungary is for Trent 60 WLE dual fuel gas turbines, to be installed as part of contract won by Centrax Gas Turbines from Bakonyi Kombiciklus Eromuepito es Fejleszto Kft (BKCE). They will be installed at the existing Bakonyi power station in Ajka, west of Budapest, near Lake Balaton. The site currently houses a power plant that produces between 40 and 60MW, using a mixture of coal and biomass fuels.

The two gas-fuelled Trent sets will provide an additional 116MW to the local region after installation and commissioning in 2010. They will also enhance the power grid by providing stability at times of peak demand.

Charlie Athanasia, Vice-President of Power Generation for the Rolls-Royce energy business, said: “The Trent 60 is the world’s most efficient and powerful aero derivative gas turbine and delivers electricity at a cost per kilowatt lower than any other turbine in its class. It offers operators such as BKCE the best combination of high power density, superior fuel efficiency and fast start capability available in the market.”

Much of the Trent’s success is due to the peaking market, where electrical utilities require a large amount of electricity quickly and efficiently to cope with sudden high demands. This can best be achieved by using gas turbines and the exceptionally large power output of the Trent is ideal for the role. In addition, a number of operators need to install new high efficiency generating plants quickly because of a lack of investment in recent years.

The two Trent units for BKCE will be housed in packages located outside the main power station and will feature side mounted exhaust with an available connection for a waste heat recovery boiler. This will enable the plant to convert these units for co-generation operation in the future, providing an increase in both available power and operating efficiency.

The Trent 60 engines for Hungary will be manufactured at the Rolls-Royce plant in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, during 2009.