GE Vernova Secures Order for 7HA.03 Combined-Cycle Plant Equipment

GE Vernova’s Gas Power segment received an order from Louisville Gas and Electric Co. (LG&E) and Kentucky Utilities (KU) for its 7HA.03 combined-cycle plant equipment. The equipment package will be used to power a new NGCC unit at LG&E and KU’s Mill Creek Generating Station in Louisville, KY. The NGCC is replacing two coal-generation units at the station, which was approved by the Kentucky Public Service Commission following an evaluation of LG&E and KU’s plans.

“We’re proud to serve the communities in which our employees live and work at the lowest reasonable cost, and the addition of a new NGCC at our Mill Creek Generating Station – which has provided ‘round the clock’ energy to our customers for decades – is an important part of how we’re continuing to plan for Kentucky’s energy future in a responsible, affordable and reliable way,” said Lonnie Bellar, SVP, Engineering and Construction. “We’re also proud to partner with GE Vernova on bringing to life what will be the most advanced NGCC generating unit in our fleet.”

The new unit, called MC5, is expected to have an output of approximately 645 MW and will use GE Vernova’s 7HA.03 gas turbine initially fueled by natural gas—it can burn up to 50% hydrogen by volume as the fuel becomes more available. An STF-D650 steam turbine, W86 generator, Vogt heat recovery steam generator, and an integrated Mark VIe control system for performance management will also be installed. A 7HA.03 gas turbine has a highly flexible ramp rate of 75 MW/min, as validated at GE Vernova’s Test Stand 7 in Greenville, SC.

“GE Vernova’s advanced HA gas turbines produce less than one-third of the carbon emissions of a similar coal-fired generating station, so constructing a NGCC works in harmony with LG&E and KU’s future carbon reduction plans by incorporating the potential of hydrogen-based fuels and carbon-capture technologies,” said Dave Ross, President of GE Vernova’s Gas Power in the Americas region. “We are honored to support LG&E and KU in this project, not only through bringing our advanced HA power generation equipment, but also by working to ensure its best operation through the deployment of controls software and remote monitoring abilities well into the future.”

Mill Creek Generating Station in Louisville, KY; Image Credits: GE Vernova

The company will provide additional services to help increase operational efficiency, which may generate key maintenance cost savings due to less unplanned maintenance for the combustion turbines. Data will be collected from sensors at the facility to be continuously monitored and analyzed at GE Vernova’s Monitoring & Diagnostics Center in Atlanta, GA.

Earlier this week, Korea Western Power (KOWEPO) ordered a GE Vernova’s 7HA.02 gas turbine for its power station in the Republic of Korea. The plant’s coal-fired power will be replaced with natural gas power generation and is expected to reach an output of 500 MW and support a future fuel-mix combustion of up to 30% by volume of hydrogen with natural gas.

KOWEPO’s power station is scheduled to begin operation in 2027 and, using GE Vernova’s HA-class turbine, the switch from coal to a gas equivalent can reduce carbon emissions by as much as 60%.