GE sees rising gas turbine sales in North America
By Ben DuBose
Online Editor
HOUSTON -- GE has received more than $1 billion in 2011 orders for heavy-duty and aeroderivative gas turbines from North American projects, underscoring a growing trend to use abundant, cleaner-burning natural gas for power generation.
Steve Boltz, chief executive of GE Power & Water, described the year-on-year improvement as "strong growth" of more than 10%.
GE made the announcement in Houston, where the company unveiled its newest aeroderivative gas turbine, the FlexAero LM6000-PH, created to provide flexible, efficient power to businesses and remote communities.
“Several factors are driving strong interest in natural gas,” said Bolze. “The recent increase in production has helped to ensure reliable supply and a consistent price structure, making natural gas an economically viable, dependable option for power generation needs.
“It also is the cleanest fossil fuel and a strong fit for the flexible, efficient power generation that our customers need to enable the integration of more renewable resources into the power grid,” he added.
GE's latest turbine is also distinguished by its ability to operate with no need for water, which helps to conserve a global resource under increasing pressure, such as the current drought in Texas.
The 50-megawatt (MW) turbine can reach full power in just five minutes. It stems from initiatives within GE's research and development (R&D) program, which has seen spending rise 20% year on year in 2011, according to Bolze.
Moreover, the announcement builds on GE’s legacy of leadership in the gas turbine industry, the company said.
GE has created turbine solutions for more than half a century and currently has more than 14,000 gas turbines in operation. These units have surpassed a combined 300 million hours of operation in a broad range of power projects worldwide.
In addition to the 50-megawatt FlexAero unveiled on Wednesday, GE recently announced the FlexEfficiency 50 combined cycle power plant, a 510-megawatt plant created to enable the integration of more renewable resources into the power grid.
Both technologies lead their class in flexibility and efficiency, a combination which is essential for balancing the grid cost-effectively and helping to deploy additional renewable power resources like wind and solar.
Among the highlights of GE’s recent North American gas turbine activity is the supply of five LMS100 aeroderivative units to Edison Mission Energy for the 500-megawatt Walnut Creek project in Southern California. These are among 19 LMS100 machines that GE will ship for projects in Southern California between now and the end of 2012.
The new gas turbine plants will replace less efficient steam boilers that will be retired, significantly reducing emissions and improving the health of Southern California’s coastal marine environment, GE officials said.
The new projects will total nearly two gigawatts of highly flexible power generation to integrate renewables and provide grid reliability, helping Southern California Edison and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power achieve their goals to generate 33% of their energy by 2020.
GE’s aeroderivative business, headquartered in Houston, modifies GE aviation engines to use natural gas and/or biofuels for efficient energy.
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