GE Energy on November 2 announced the latest milestone for its fleet of F technology gas turbines: more than 30 million hours of commercial operation in power plants worldwide.
The company’s fleet of more than 1,000 F-class machines also has exceeded 600,000 starts, illustrating the model’s durability and availability. The high number of starts is testimony to the effectiveness of F technology as a cycling or peak unit, serving the operating flexibility needs of today’s power generating customer. This industry-leading availability enhances the cost effectiveness of power plants and industrial businesses that use GE’s F-class gas turbine technology.
“As countries around the world look to cleaner-burning natural gas and alternative fuels to help support their energy security, economic and environmental goals, this milestone further underscores the role that GE’s F technology is serving to help customers solve this challenge,” said John Reinker, general manager of gas turbine and combined cycle products for GE Energy. “The F-class gas turbine has earned a global reputation among power customers seeking the greatest levels of flexibility and reliability from their generation equipment.”
Since its introduction in 1987, GE's F technology has set global industry standards for reliability, availability and emissions. For example, according to ORAP data, GE's 7F turbine is the most reliable gas turbine in the F class and is the first to achieve 99.1 percent reliability.
GE's F machines also feature outstanding operational flexibility, as they were the first gas turbines in their class to reach 40% turndown while maintaining single digit NOx and CO emissions levels.
In April 2009, marking an important development for the F-class family, GE Energy announced it was shipping its 100th Frame 6FA gas turbine to a combined heat and power (CHP) project in the city of Kurgan in the south Ural area of Russia. The new CHP plant is designed to provide electricity and thermal energy generation to support the social and economic development of the region. This mid-sized member of GE’s F-technology fleet is well known for its fuel flexibility and operational capabilities, compiling more than 2 million hours of commercial service in 30 countries worldwide.
Designed for both 50- and 60-hertz applications, the 6FA is a 75-megawatt class machine. Its output range, high exhaust energy, full packaging and robust design make the 6FA well suited for a wide range of applications, from industrial cogeneration and district heating to pure power generation in combined cycle for islands as well as integration in refineries.
The Frame 9FB is an example of GE's continuing investment to improve the availability, reliability and performance of its F-class fleet. Configured with GE's high efficiency advanced technology (HEAT) steam turbine in gas-fired, combined-cycle operation, the 9FB can produce more than 437 megawatts, a significant increase over the 9FA's combined-cycle output of approximately 390 megawatts.
In the latest evolution of F-class technology, GE recently announced an upgraded version of the Frame 7FA gas turbine, offering increased output, efficiency, operability and flexibility, to meet the growing requirements of today’s power plant operators. A typical power plant operating two new 7FA gas turbines with a single steam turbine in a combined-cycle configuration could achieve fuel cost savings of more than $2 million a year, at a natural gas price of $6 per MMBtu, compared with a similar plant using an earlier version of the 7FA.
Many of the units in GE's installed fleet of F-technology machines also are covered by contractual service agreements, which include the supply of parts, repairs and field services for planned and unplanned outages of the gas turbine-generators and accessory equipment, along with performance guarantees.
