First electricity from CCGT Grudziądz delivered to national grid: major milestone reached in one of ORLEN’s flagship projects
CCGT Grudziądz, a new combined cycle gas turbine power plant, has successfully delivered its first electricity to Poland’s national power grid, reaching a key commissioning milestone. Once operational, the plant will be capable of supplying electricity to around one million households thus strengthening the country’s energy security.
- Once again, we are demonstrating tangible progress under ORLEN’s largest-ever capital investment plan. Following the first power export from the Baltic Power offshore wind farm, CCGT Grudziądz has now reached the same milestone, with electricity delivered to the national grid. This marks a major milestone for the project set to reinforce Poland’s energy security and provide reliable electricity supplies for around one million households. We’re steadily expanding our portfolio of modern generation assets that reinforce the resilience of Poland's power system while laying the foundations for its transformation in the decades to come - says Ireneusz Fąfara, CEO and President of the Management Board of ORLEN.
First firing of the gas turbine and synchronisation of the generating unit with the national power grid are key milestones in the commissioning of a combined cycle power plant. Their achievement confirms that the plant’s critical process systems are ready for operation, enabling it to progress to the next phase of commissioning. During synchronisation, electricity generated by CCGT Grudziądz was fed to the grid for the first time, marking another important step towards bringing one of ORLEN’s largest energy projects into operation.
The next stage will comprise a series of performance tests, including commissioning of the steam cycle and operation of the unit at full rated load. Successful completion of these tests will demonstrate that the plant’s performance meets its design specifications, bringing it closer to the start of commercial operation.
The scale of the Grudziądz project reflects both the pace and complexity of ORLEN’s energy transition programme. At the peak of construction, nearly 1 thousand people were working on site, contributing more than four million man-hours. The project required more than 30 thousand cubic metres of concrete, 4 thousand tonnes of reinforcing steel and 6.5 thousand tonnes of structural steel. In addition, 500 tonnes of piping and almost 900 kilometres of cables were installed to ensure the reliable and safe operation of the plant’s core systems for years to come.
CCGT Grudziądz forms part of the ORLEN Group’s largest-ever investment programme to develop modern combined cycle gas turbine assets. These units are intended to support the stability of Poland’s power system by providing flexible generation capacity needed throughout the energy transition. Alongside the projects in Grudziądz and Ostrołęka, both of which are in the final stages of commissioning, the Group continues to advance further capital investments: the construction of a new CCGT unit is underway in Gdańsk, work has commenced on the CCGT Grudziądz II project, while preparations are ongoing at the Siekierki CHP Plant to select the gas technology and EPC contractor.
In line with the ORLEN 2035 Strategy, the Group targets an increase in its installed CCGT capacity to approximately 4.3 GW. This will create one of the region’s largest portfolios of advanced, low-carbon gas-fired generation assets, representing another significant step towards a more secure, reliable and flexible electricity system. As the remaining commissioning milestones are completed, the project is moving steadily towards the planned launch of commercial operation later this year.
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