On October 27, Karadeniz Holding – owners of the world's single largest Powership fleet – bid a joyful 'bon voyage', 'mah krow' and 'hamba kahle' to one of its Powerships, the Karadeniz Powership Ayşegül Sultan, which set sail from Tuzla Sedef Dockyard, Turkey, for the Republic of Ghana where it will be providing 235 MW of power to Ghana's electricity infrastructure by the end of November 2015.
Speaking at the ceremony Karadeniz Holding CEO Orhan Remzi said, "Thanks to our Powerships, hospitals, schools, factories and homes now have electricity and they will be contributing to the development of our partner nations. Therefore, we call our Powership Project, the 'Power of Friendship'. We hope that the electricity provided will bring prosperity, peace and happiness. I would like to express a special thanks to everyone who contributed to the project."
A solution for South Africa, too ...
South Africa currently uses Open-Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGTs) through the majority of the day to meet some of the excess peak demand. OCGTs run on diesel and are an expensive energy option. Karpowership can replace OCGTs and generate electricity at approximately R1.80 per kWh all in, which is 22% cheaper than OCGTs. This would amount to a saving of R26-billion per year for South Africa.
The Department of Energy's 'Gas to Power Plan' has identified power barges as a potential source of energy for South Africa, something that Karadeniz believes is a a positive development in the attainment of South Africa's mid-term energy security goals. It is also believed that the Karadeniz Powership offering can match the demands of the South African market within the framework of the IPP – and do so more cost-efficiently than any other power barge/Powership solution
Speaking at the launch ceremony, Paddy O'Driscoll, sales director for Karadeniz Holding, said, "Karpowership will give South Africa's energy sector breathing space. Our Powerships can significantly alleviate the need for regular load shedding. We currently generate over 1 500 MW of electricity with the addition of these ships. Karpowership can quickly add capacity to South Africa's broad energy infrastructure in order to support sustained economic activity."
World's biggest Powership
At the same time as the launch, the first welding of the Orhan Ali Khan took place. When completed, this will be the world's largest Powership and will have a capacity of 460 MW and will be over 300m in length. The ship is scheduled for completion during the first half of 2016.
Karpowership has built nine ships to date with more than 2 000 MW of additional capacity currently under construction. Its Powerships' capacities range from 100 MW to 500 MW and can be deployed every three to four months.
A second ship, Karadeniz Powership Zeynep Sultan (125 MW), was also launched and set sail for the Republic of Indonesia.
