Central Puerto initiated the project to convert the Brigadier Lopezopen cycle Thermoelectric Plant into a combined cycle. The power station is located in the Sauce Viejo industrial park (Route 11, KM 455), 22 km from Santa Fe capital city. The company committed an estimated investment of USD 150 million.

The plant, which has a dual-fuel Siemens SGT5-4000 F gas turbine with a total nominal power of 292 MW, will increase its capacity by 140MW due to the closing cycle. This means that total power output will reach 432MW, enough to supply more than 300,000 homes throughout the country, by injecting power to the interconnected system through the 132kV connection. In the first stage, the project will prompt the creation of more than 130 jobs (both direct and indirect workers).

With time, as the project moves forward, more local suppliers are expected to be incorporated. Operation of a Combined Cycle Power Plant: An open cycle thermal plant produces electrical energy through a generator driven by an internal combustion turbine, with natural gas as the main fuel used in this type of turbines. Closing the cycle implies the installation of a recovery boiler that uses the heat from the combustion gases of that gas turbine to produce steam to drive a second turbine, a steam one.

Another generator is coupled to this steam turbine, making it possible to increase energy output without additional fuel and therefore making the facility more efficient. In addition to this, the exhaust gases after the heat recovery process finish with a low temperature, minimizing the environmental impact.