Mitsubishi Power supplies El Paso plant

Mitsubishi Power will supply El Paso Electric (EPE) a 228 MW Smart M501GAC enhanced-response (SmartER) gas turbine, an enhanced G-Series, to replace three 60-year old units. The SmartER M501GAC  has a fast startup and ramp rate to respond to customer energy usage and renewable energy variability. The gas turbine is hydrogen ready for future deep decarbonization.

EPE is adding 200 MW of large-scale solar power and 50 MW of battery storage at the same time and is counting on the gas turbine’s rapid dispatch capability to respond to the intermittency of these renewables. The gas turbine’s quick startup and fast ramp rate will ensure grid stability and enable EPE to maximize power generation.

The gas turbine is capable of operating on natural gas, or on a mixture of natural gas and up to 30 percent hydrogen for further decarbonization. The gas turbine can be configured in the future to operate on up to 100 percent hydrogen for zero-carbon emissions. EPE and Mitsubishi Power are exploring a joint development agreement in the coming months to create a green hydrogen infrastructure roadmap.

The SmartER M501GAC is an integration of Mitsubishi Power’s G-Series turbine technology and its TOMONI™ digital solutions for analytics and artificial intelligence. EPE hopes to maintain a reliable grid and avoid outages as it increases renewables and accommodates rapid growth in energy demand, such as last year’s highest level of growth on record at EPE.