Gas turbines integrated with wind and solar

GE’s FlexEfficiency technology has been selected for an innovative new power plant being developed by MetCap Energy Investments, a Turkish project developer. The project will produce the world’s first Integrated Renewables Combined Cycle (IRCC) Power Plant.

The FlexEfficiency 50 IRCC plant is designed for flexible operation by integrating a next-generation 50 Hz 9FB Gas Turbine, a steam turbine, a generator, 22 MW of GE wind turbines and 50 MW of eSolar concentrated solar thermal tower technology, all integrated by a GE Mark VIe plant control system.

The power plant will be located in Karaman, Turkey, and will be rated at 530 MW at site conditions, which is enough energy to power more than 600,000 homes. It is scheduled to enter commercial operation in 2015. The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services will be provided by Gama Power Systems Engineering and Contracting, Inc.

This power plant will have zero liquid discharge, low emissions and a rapid-response, 28-minute start capability. It accomplishes this using an integrated controls system that provides single-button start for all of the elements of the IRCC power plant.

On June 6, GE announced an investment and licensing agreement with eSolar, a provider of next-generation concentrated solar thermal tower technology. Under the agreement, GE will license and incorporate eSolar technology and software into its IRCC and standalone solar thermal power plants.

The FlexEfficiency 50 plant is the result of more than $500 million invested by GE in research and development to deliver cleaner, more efficient energy. GE also has announced a $170 million investment in a first-of-its-kind full speed full load test facility in Greenville, S.C., that will provide factory validation of its new technology.