Alstom, Levallois-Perret Cedex, France, has signed contracts worth approximately $1.7 billion to supply two 900 MW units to Polish utility Polska Grupa Energetyczna (PGE). The contracts are with Polimex, Rafako and Mostostal Warsawa, members of the consortium in charge of the project.

The contracts involve units 5 and 6 for a new ultra-supercritical (USC) coal-fired power plant in Opole in southwestern Poland. Once operational, it will be the country’s largest coal-fueled facility and will supply electricity to the equivalent of two million homes. Unit 5 is due to enter commercial operation in 2018 and Unit 6 in 2019.

Alstom will supply USC boiler islands, the steam turbine generator islands, including the turbine hall equipment, the air-quality-control systems as well as some balance-of-plant systems.

The use of ultra-supercritical technology, which allows for the production of higher electrical output while burning less coal, will enable PGE to reduce its environmental impact and meet regulatory requirements, says Alstom. This is particularly important in Poland, where around 90 percent of fuel for electricity generation is coal or lignite.

Alstom previously retrofitted units 2, 3 and 4 at Opole to uplift their efficiency. Last year, the company successfully completed the ultra-supercritical unit 14 at Be?chatów, Poland’s most efficient coal-fired unit.