GE celebrates manufacture of first 9HA gas turbine

GE recently celebrated the first 9HA manufactured at the company’s Belfort Gas Turbine Center of Excellence in France, after years of research and development. It was supported by a billion dollar investment plan, GE said. The turbine is likely to be shipped to Bouchain, France, where Électricité de France (EDF) and GE are developing a gas-fired power plants.

The project in Bouchain is said to be the first new gas power generation combined-cycle plant equipped with GE’s 9HA gas turbine technology. It is scheduled to enter commercial service in mid- to late-2016 in the Nord Pas-de-Calais region, France.

The plant will have a capacity of 575 MW and generate power that is equivalent to the power needs of 600 000 French homes, in less than 30 minutes at more than 61% efficiency, said GE. The operating flexibility of the 9HA gas turbine technology will enable EDF to respond quickly to fluctuations in grid demand, paving the way for greater use of renewable energy in support of France’s energy and environmental priorities, GE said. The company claimed that its technology can help save 6.4 million m3 of natural gas each year compared to using F-class technology.

Victor Abate, president and CEO of power generation products at GE Power & Water said customeres are recognizing the value in the HA turbine. “Natural gas is leading the capacity for generation growth, and for the first time ever, more gas generation capacity will be added over the next decade than from any other fuel.” GE said over the last 40 years EDF has installed more than 120 GE turbines for projects totaling 12 000 MW of installed capacity.