GE Energy announced that developer S.C. VEST-ENERGO S.A. will install a 14-MW cogeneration gas engine plant in order to modernize its district heating facilities in Bucharest, Romania to help the country meet energy efficiency standards set by the European Union. The project will be powered by four of GE’s most powerful Jenbacher “Type 6” gas engines. Two of the engines are GE’s new J624 GS units that are the world’s first commercial 24-cylinder gas engines.

The VEST-ENERGO project will support Romania’s National Energy Efficiency Action Plan to aggressively modernize the country’s municipal and industrial district heating networks. Today’s announcement will add momentum to Romania’s plans to modernize its local heating districts and increase national energy efficiency standards in order comply with EU efficiency guidelines. The EU has urged member countries to expand the use of cogeneration in order to reach efficiency goals.

While GE’s Jenbacher cogeneration units are widely deployed throughout Europe, the VEST ENERGO project marks one of the first commercial deployments of GE’s new J624 GS engine model. Last week, GE Energy announced that Royal Pride Holland, one of Netherland’s largest commercial tomato greenhouse operators, would use the J624 GS engine to power the greenhouse’s new cogeneration plant.

VEST-ENERGO is building the natural gas-fueled cogeneration plant that serves residential and commercial customers in the city’s western district. Cogeneration is inherently more efficient and consumes less fossil fuel than separate heating and power generation equipment.

VEST-ENERGO’s new plant will be powered by two of GE’s 3-MW, J620 GS units and two of GE’s newest 4-MW, J624 GS engines, providing a total of 14 MW of electricity and 13.5 MW of thermal power. “Phase One” will use J620 GS units that will be in service by the end of 2008. “Phase Two” will feature the J624 GS units and is scheduled to be commissioned by October 2009.

GE is supplying the cogeneration equipment, installation, long-term service and spare parts through its Jenbacher engine distributor for Romania, TOTAL Eurobusiness Company.

“There is a great opportunity in the Romanian energy sector to improve the efficiency and reduce the environmental impact of both the industrial and residential sectors by utilizing 21st century technology in today's district heating systems,“ said Rod Christie, CEO of GE Energy for Central & Eastern Europe, Russia & CIS. “This goal requires very efficient, reliable cogeneration technology, which makes GE’s Jenbacher gas engine technology perfectly suited for VEST ENERGO’s project.”

GE’s Jenbacher natural gas cogeneration applications recently earned GE’s ecomagination certification as part of GE’s corporate wide campaign to offer customers advanced technologies that provides proven economic and environmental benefits over existing equipment.