GE completes Tepco gas turbine project

GE’s Power Services business has announced that its largest ever flange-to-flange (F2F) replacement project in Japan was successfully completed on time at Block 7 and Block 8 of TEPCO Fuel & Power’s (TEPCO) Yokohama power plant in Japan, and is expected to save approximately $71 million in annual fuel costs. This project involved a total of eight gas turbines ranging from 9FA.01 to 9FA.03 models being upgraded to improve performance and reduce lifecycle cost for TEPCO.

Through this project, GE’s solution enabled TEPCO to incorporate all gas turbine replacements and upgrades to the latest technology at minimal disruption to plant operations to achieve:

• Increased total plant output of gas turbine combined cycle (GTCC) by 216MW
• Improved efficiency of 1.7% under customer load conditions
• Lowered emissions by 30,000 tons annually per unit, which ultimately contributes to approximately 240,000 tons of CO₂ reduction annually. This is equivalent to taking approximately 200,000 cars off the road annually.

GE has also provided training to a group of engineers from TEPCO, helping to expand skills and knowledge of TEPCO’s plant operations team.

In a flange-to-flange replacement exercise, the entire engine from inlet flange to exhaust flange is replaced as one piece. This is a cost-effective solution to address multiple power generation needs at once, including asset life extension, performance recovery, emissions controls, and fuel flexibility.

GE also successfully completed the world’s first 9EMax four-stage gas turbine at TEPCO’s Futtsu power plant in Chiba, Japan. The now completed upgrade is the first of a total of six 9EMax upgrades to be implemented at the Futtsu plant and is expected to increase output, improve thermal efficiency from 47.2% to 51.4%, and reduce emissions at the plant.