Improved GE 9EMax gas turbines to power projects in Malaysia

General Electric (GE) Power and Water, a division of General Electric Co, recently introduced its newly improved 9EMax gas turbine, which is expected to deliver up to 143 MW of power and up to 37 percent efficiency in simple cycle operations.

The new 9EMax gas turbines are expected to elevate the output and efficiency of the existing 9EMax gas turbines, and to open as much as RM19.2 million in new annual revenue opportunities per unit upgrade, in addition to about RM16 million in annual fuel savings.

More annual fuel savings

Besides providing highest economic value, the new 9EMax is expected to help meet the nation’s projected 4GW to 5GW annual growth in energy demand through 2035 as well as in meeting the regulatory and environmental demands.

The company is confident on securing at least 50 percent of power projects in Malaysia following the introduction of its 9EMax gas turbine. GE Power and Water Asia Pacific’s president Ramesh Singaram said this estimation is modest considering the vast amount of efficiency saving and other benefits that would attract a great deal of customers.  “For combined cycle operation, the 9EMax could deliver up to 210MW and up to 53 percent efficiency,” he said at the recent Power Gen Asia annual trade conference in Kuala Lumpur.

The gas turbines are expected to complement the efforts of the government in Malaysia to drive greater focus on efficient and clean energy. This is timely, as Malaysia is moving towards reduction and eventual elimination of fuel and electricity tariff subsidies in light of its market liberation initiatives.

Beneficial to the Asia Pacific

The 9EMax gas turbine will allow customers to generate up to 32,000 hours or 900 starts between scheduled maintenance inspections, a period of approximately four years for typical continuous-duty power plants.

The solution is particularly beneficial to the Asia Pacific countries that experience hot climate for long periods. Further, 9EMax can be blended with GE’s OpFlex advanced control-led software which could eliminate as much as 3 percent of output performance loss that can occur in extreme heat operating environments.