MHPS J-Series American fleet leader passes 8,000 hours

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) has announced that Grand River Dam Authority’s power plant in Oklahoma recently surpassed 8,000 hours of commercial operation with exceptional reliability. This power plant is the American fleet-leader for the MHPS J-Series gas turbine and is the 25th J-Series to surpass 8,000 hours of operation globally.

MHPS Americas CEO Paul Browning said, “As the global leader in gas turbine sales so far this year, MHPS is continuing to focus on delivering the highest quality products for our power generation customers. After a successful product launch in Asia that demonstrated the exceptional reliability of the J-Series, we now have a rapidly expanding J-Series fleet in the Americas. We have delivered every J-Series on time, and have 10 more turbines in commissioning in Mexico, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, with four of these having already achieved first fire.”

Carlos Koeneke, Vice President of MHPS Americas engineering added, “Our Advanced Class Gas Turbines operate reliably with increased firing temperature, among others because we have for decades used external coolers to reduce the cooling air temperatures. This helps keep our turbine blades and nozzles at lower temperatures and ensures low oxidation and creep rates. This is a key differentiator versus competitors as they use considerably hotter cooling air temperatures.”

The global J-Class fleet has surpassed 635,000 commercial operating hours. This includes 33 J-Class turbines in operation, of which 25 units have exceeded 8,000 hours of operation. The global fleet leader has achieved more than 40,000 hours of commercial operation.

The MHPS process of buying serial number 1 of any new technology and generating 8,000 hours of commercial operation in their own combined cycle power plant in Takasago, Japan has proven decisive in allowing them to achieve industry-leading reliability. With 158 Advanced-Class turbines ordered since their first delivery in 2001, MHPS continues as the global fleet leader in operating experience.