GE Vernova, Duke Energy Enter Gas Turbine Partnership to Meet Evolving Energy Landscape

Due to advanced manufacturing, data centers, and population growth, Duke Energy partnered with GE Vernova to accelerate the company’s unspecified power projects across six states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.

“As we continue to experience unprecedented growth in our service territories, securing the necessary materials to build critical infrastructure and meet the energy demand is integral to delivering value for our customers and other stakeholders,” said Harry Sideris, Duke Energy President and CEO. “We value our collaboration with forward-thinking partners who assist us in advancing our energy-modernization strategy.”

GE Vernova will deliver 11 7HA gas turbines and related equipment to Duke Energy, adding to the eight 7HA turbines provided in an earlier contract. Aligning with Duke Energy’s integrated resources initiatives, these onsite assets allow the company to leverage existing infrastructure and transmission lines to lower electricity costs and accelerate production-to-grid timelines. Generating and delivering reliable, low-cost energy enables Duke Energy to accommodate customers within its service area and address emerging growth opportunities in the power landscape.

Combined-cycle natural gas plant in Citrus County, FL; image credit: Duke Energy

Manufacturing Expansion

This agreement with Duke Energy comes on the heels of GE Vernova’s 2-year, $600 million investment in U.S. manufacturing, which includes an expansion of its facility in Greenville, SC. The investment allocates approximately $300 million to turbine manufacturing for GE Vernova’s Gas Power division in the United States, allowing the company to fulfill large-scale orders for customers like Duke Energy.

“This arrangement with Duke Energy and the significant expansion of our U.S. manufacturing facilities illustrate our ability and commitment to developing solutions that our customers require to meet today and tomorrow’s energy demands,” said Scott Strazik, CEO of GE Vernova. “We are proud to be able to supply these Greenville, SC-manufactured gas turbines to a leading U.S. energy company and service to its consumers.”

Under the investment, GE Vernova will:

• Replace traditional manufacturing processes with lean manufacturing lines
• Increase suppliers’ component capacity
• Establish over 1,500 new positions
• Accommodate the record-high demand for gas turbines and electricity, both for new and current customers
• Deliver additional enhancements

Duke Energy Works to Reduce Its Emissions

Duke Energy developed its Integrated Methane-Monitoring Platform (IMMP) to detect leaks and measure methane emissions on natural gas distribution systems. It uses a satellite with a short-wave infrared sensor to monitor methane emissions and ground-based technologies such as continuous monitoring sensors, gas cloud imaging cameras, and handheld/portable gas-sensing analyzers.

“IMMP started with satellite captures in Greenville, SC, which helped the team refine, improve, and scale the technology and the methane detection algorithms to various types of local distribution company assets with varying terrain and geography,” said Lauren Crowe, Managing Director of Natural Gas Business Transformation at Duke Energy.

IMMP has reduced recordable leaks in the Carolinas by more than 85% since its inception in 2022. “Duke Energy’s Natural Gas Business Unit is also using cross-compression technology to capture methane,” Crowe said. “We are also making investments in renewable natural gas, which is considered carbon-neutral because it removes methane from the atmosphere and displaces geological gas.”