GE Power
POWERING THE FUTURE OF THE MIDDLE EAST
GE’s HA Technology
GE’s HA Technology
How do you improve the efficiency, flexibility and reliability of your power generation assets while lowering CO2 emissions, downtime, and operational costs?
Powering the Future of the Middle East
Swelling populations and industry are driving the Middle East’s energy growth, with BP’s Energy Outlook forecasting a 49% increase in overall energy consumption by 2035.
With power demand set to rise across the Middle East, both utilities and consumers are re-thinking their strategies to leverage economic and operational sweet spots.
Additionally, new energy sources – such as solar, wind, and coal – entering the mix, power producers must increase plant efficiency while becoming more flexible and reliable.
The good news is that the in-country expertise and technology required to help the Middle East achieve its energy vision already exists. So how do we begin?
Proven expertise. Real outcomes
GE can help plant operators and power producers address their challenges while increasing efficiency, flexibility, and output. Our latest HA technology delivers:
Highest Efficiency
HA technology produces the highest efficiency found in any gas turbine—greater than 63% at ISO conditions—which reduces fuel costs and CO2 emissions over the life of the plant.
Operational Flexibility
With ramp-up from start command to full load in combined cycle achieved in less than 30 minutes and up to 88 MW/minute ramping capability, our HA technology features solid flexibility.
Technology Validation
GE introduced the H-class combined-cycle power plant more than a decade ago, and was the first to reach more than 300,000 hours of H-class operation. The 9HA has undergone a full-speed, full-load validation test in 2015 and exceeded engineering performance expectations.
Want more information?
Trusted Methods
GE operates the world’s most comprehensive variable speed, variable load, off-grid gas turbine test facility in Greenville, South Carolina. Capable of replicating a real-world grid environment at full capacity, this facility tests 50 and 60 Hz gas turbines well beyond normal power plant conditions seen in the field. Temperature data on casing structures, the rotor, and hot gas path components provide GE with an unrivaled understanding of actual component temperatures.
This is crucial in confirming the thermal strain on parts and accurately analyzing component life. Comprehensive testing prepares our turbines for nearly any condition they may experience once installed. It also provides GE with invaluable performance insight under the most demanding conditions.
Test Stand Details to Know
- 1,000+ test hours planned for HA gas turbines through 2017
- Runs both natural gas and liquid distillate fuels
- Capable of testing multiple gas turbine models
- Full-scale compressor mapping and validation
- 800+ test hours planned for HA gas turbines through 2017
Want to learn more about the Greenville test stand? Take a video tour of our testing facility here, or get an in-depth look at the 9HA testing here.
Ready for an HA validation deep-dive? Download our “Validation of the HA Gas Turbine Platform” whitepaper here.
Execution in the region
GE is currently supplying two high-efficiency 9HA gas turbines to SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction Corporation, a PowerChina subsidiary, to help address the electricity shortages in Pakistan.
The gas turbines are accompanying one steam turbine and two heat recovery steam generators (HRSGs) at the new 1.2 GW Haveli Bahadur Shah power plant. The Haveli power plant is GE’s third project in Pakistan, marking the fifth and sixth 9HA gas turbines in the country. The three combined-cycle projects—Haveli, Balloki and Bhikki—will supply the equivalent electricity needed to power nearly 20 million Pakistani homes.
Additionally, in January 2017, GE received an order from Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) for a turnkey combined-cycle power plant, including three GE HA gas turbines, which will power the world’s largest single-site smelter. This order was the first for GE H-Class turbines in the Gulf, as well as the first use of HA technology by the aluminum smelting industry anywhere in the world.
One Year of Commercial Operation at Bouchain
A 62.22% efficiency rating for a combined-cycle power plant has never been achieved before…until now. In 2016, GE, with the partnership of EDF, made history and set a Guinness World Records™ title for powering the world’s most efficient combined-cycle power plant in Bouchain, France. Read more.
Want more information?
Meet the 9HA heavy-duty gas turbine
The 9HA high efficiency, air-cooled gas turbine is an industry leader among H-class offerings, and now the 9HA.01 is at the heart of the world's most efficient combined-cycle power plant.
- Streamlined maintenance with quick-removal turbine roof, field-replaceable blades, and 100 percent borescope inspection coverage for all blades
- 4-stage turbine with 3D aerodynamic hot gas path, cooling and sealing improvements, single-crystal and directionally solidified blades, and double-wall casing for improved clearance control
- 14-stage advanced compressor with 3D aerodynamic airfoils with superfinish, 3 stages of variable stator vanes, and field-replaceable blades
- DLN 2.6+ combustor with axial fuel staging is proven through 45,000 starts and >2.9 million hours
- Combustor enables industry-leading low emissions and broad fuel flexibility
- Reduces need for on-site gas compression; fuel pressure requirements as low as 435 psi/30 bar
- Reaches turndown as low as 30% of gas turbine baseload output within emissions compliance
- Fuel flexible to accommodate gas and liquid fuels with wide gas variability, including high ethane (shale) gas and liquefied natural gas
Our HA combined-cycle power plants can start in under 30 minutes, enabling participation in non-spinning reserve markets, and reducing fuel burn and startup emissions. With a ramp rate of >50 MW/minute (for 1x1 plants) or >100 MW/minute (for 2x1 plants), our CCPP can provide quick-acting standby capacity for renewables-heavy electricity markets while still maintaining NOx and CO limits.
Our output reduction reaches as low as 33% of base load (1x1 plants) or 16% of base load (2x1 plants), and allows you to reduce fuel burn and emissions during periods of low demand or unfavorable spark spreads. If you need to reach full load again, our quick dispatch mode lets you do it in minutes.
In terms of fuel flexibility, our CCPPs can burn a wide range of gas compositions and distillate/crude oils, boasting a modified Wobbe Index capability of +/- 15%. GE also offers a full suite of steam turbine low pressure configurations for any plant cooling system. Axial, down, and side steam turbine exhausts are available, and one-flow, two-flow, and four-flow steam turbine low-pressure sections are also available.
It is rare to find two plants perfectly alike, which is why you’ll find GE working hand-in-hand with customers to develop and build custom engineered solutions to match unique business and operational needs. Whether the project requires a single gas turbine generator set or a multi-unit turnkey solution, GE can supplies as little or as much as you need—designed to meet individual procurement strategies and risk profiles.
