Exelon orders three GE air-cooled H machines

GE recently won an order worth more than $500 million to provide air-cooled H machines to U.S.-based Exelon. The order includes four GE 7HA gas turbines, two D600 steam turbines, six generators and a contractual service agreement for the Wolf Hollow and Colorado Bend combined-cycle power plant (CCPP) projects.

(GE's 9HA Gas Turbine at the validation test stand. (Photo: Business Wire -- Multimedia Gallery URL)

The four 60 Hz 7HA.02 gas turbines, steam turbines and generators will add a total of 2000 MW of additional capacity for the projects. Utilizing advanced air-cooling technologies, GE’s H-Class gas turbines help lower the cost of electricity and reduce the carbon footprint compared with F-Class technology.

The projects are planned at the existing Exelon sites of Wolf Hollow, near Dallas, Texas, U.S.A., and Colorado Bend, near Houston. This is the first U.S. order for GE’s HA turbine. The equipment is expected to ship in 2016, with the plants likely to be operational in 2017.

The 7HA.02 features modular constructability and provides 330 MW per unit and a net combined-cycle efficiency of more than 61 percent, the company said. Compared with F-class technology, fuel savings are expected to be over $8 million annually, per gas turbine. The HA gas turbines are suitable for a shorter installation schedule, a real benefit in Texas, given concerns about skilled manpower availability.

There are 13 of GE’s new H-class turbines already on order in four countries, both 50 and 60 Hz: Japan, the U.S., Russia and France. Japan has ordered seven turbines (six 7HA models and one 9HA model), with Russia and France each ordering a 9HA model.

Ken Cornew, president and CEO, Exelon Generation said, “GE’s high-output and high-efficiency H-class technologies would enable us to provide our customers with reliable and low-cost energy.”

Victor Abate, president and CEO, power generation products at GE Power & Water said, “We have invested more than $1 billion in our latest H-class technology to deliver the most cost-effective, dispatchable power to consumers.”