American Electric Power Awards Alstom Power Contracts Worth Over USD 100 Million ([euro]70 Million) to Add Power and Reliability to Its DC Cook 1 and Conesville 4 Power Plants in the US.

WASHINGTON -- American Electric Power (AEP) will purchase steam turbines from Alstom Power for its DC Cook 1 nuclear power plant in Michigan and its Conesville 4 coal-fired generating unit in Ohio. The replacement of turbines on these units will bring improved performance and reliability. The value of the contracts is in excess of USD 100 million.

At the nuclear DC Cook facility, Alstom will provide three replacement low-pressure nuclear steam turbine rotors for unit 1.

At the Conesville 4 unit, Alstom will provide a high-pressure rotor and parts and perform the turbine installation. The retrofit will increase the plant's efficiency and will help offset the power requirements of the new SO2 scrubber installed at this site.

Philippe Joubert, President of Alstom Power, said: "These new contracts are further evidence of our company's leading position for steam turbine retrofits and that Alstom is a valued partner for meeting the sustained growth in demand for clean energy in the US."

"As a world energy leader, we strive to create technologies and products that help utilities meet the world's growing energy needs while drastically reducing the impact of power generation on the environment. Our retrofit solutions provide a fast and cost effective way to achieve extra capacity and cut NOx, SOx and CO2 output."

AEP and Alstom are also advancing carbon capture and storage technology. On 30th October, Alstom and AEP commissioned a 20-megawatt installation of Alstom's chilled ammonia process for CO2 capture at AEP's 1,300 MW Mountaineer power plant in New Haven, West Virginia. Mountaineer is the first integrated CO2 capture and storage project at a coal-fueled power plant. The technology will remove an estimated 90% of carbon dioxide emissions from the 20 MW flue gas stream it processes, capturing up to 100,000 metric tons of CO2 per year. At scale, the technology has the potential of being applicable not only for new power plants, but also for the retrofit of existing coal-fired power plants.

About Alstom

Alstom is a global leader in the world of power generation and rail infrastructure and sets the benchmark for innovative and environmentally friendly technologies. Alstom builds the fastest train and the highest capacity automated metro in the world, and provides turnkey integrated power plant solutions and associated services for a wide variety of energy sources, including hydro, nuclear, gas, coal and wind. The Group employs 81,500 people in 70 countries, and had orders of [euro]24,6 billion in 2008/09.