GE Power kicked off a series of roadshows and meetings across the Middle East and Pakistan today to demonstrate path-breaking digital industrial solutions that are unlocking a new era of energy efficiency and flexibility, leading to significant cost savings for the power generation sector. The events will be held in Dubai, Muscat, Islamabad and other locations in the coming weeks.
They will be led by industry experts, who will provide a detailed overview of how GE’s high efficiency gas turbines, Predix-based digital solutions for utilities, and other technologies are pushing the frontier of possibilities for the power sector. GE’s experts will also discuss the financing landscape and means to fund new projects. The events will be attended by high-ranking government officials, power plant owners and operators, regulators and consultants, among others.
A special highlight of the roadshows and meetings will be GE’s leading HA technology. The result of US$ 2 billion in research and development, this is the world’s largest and most efficient gas turbine and has set industry benchmarks in the cost-effective conversion of fuel to electricity. The turbine helped EDF’s power plant in Bouchain, France, achieve a world record in combined cycle efficiency of 62.22%. It has undergone full-speed, full-load validation tests at extreme conditions well beyond those encountered while in service and completed more than 12,000 operating hours.
More than 60 HA units have been ordered to date by more than 15 customers across 15 countries, including the US, Brazil, Japan, Bahrain, China and others. Ghassan Barghout, President & CEO of GE’s Gas Power Systems – Sales for the Middle East, North Africa (MENA) and Pakistan, said, “With the region’s growing focus on maximizing energy sector efficiency and productivity, GE’s HA technology is an excellent fit for its power generation sector. The turbine offers significant annual savings in fuel expenditure, versus currently operating combined cycle plants, and enables greater stability of the grids as utilities across the region increase the contribution of renewables to the total generation. Through the roadshows, we are highlighting the tangible value that our advanced technology brings to the region.”
In addition to ground-breaking efficiency, the HA technology also offers industry-leading flexibility. It allows customers to maintain stable power production and to reliably accommodate grid variations through quick start up, rapid load changes and other features. It can reach from start to full load in less than 30 minutes, delivering reliable and flexible operations not just for large power plants and utilities but also for captive power plants or small grids. Furthermore, it offers considerable fuel flexibility, accommodating both gas and liquid fuels with wide gas variability, including high ethane and liquefied natural gas.
GE’s HA technology is already being actively deployed by power plant operators in the MENA and Pakistan region. It will be used to power the world’s largest single-site smelter at Aluminium Bahrain (ALBA) and several units have already entered commercial operations in Pakistan. In further localization capabilities, the GE Manufacturing & Technology Center (GEMTEC) in Dammam, Saudi Arabia now has expanded competencies to roll out the HA heavy duty turbines.
The events will also cover GE’s extended gas power systems portfolio, which helps to deliver the output, operational flexibility and performance needed for today’s rapidly-evolving energy environment. This includes GE’s 9E and 13E2 gas turbines, which operate in the most rugged conditions and maintain the largest range of industrial uses; the 6F gas turbine, which has the durability and flexibility ideal for harsh and remote environments; the LMS100 aeroderivative gas turbine, which offers the highest simple cycle efficiency of any gas turbine in the world; emergency / mobile power solutions such as TM2500 trailer-mounted aeroderivative gas turbine generator sets that can be swiftly transported and commissioned in less than 11 days to provide up to 35 MW of reliable power; Hybrid Electric Gas Turbines (EGT) that combine energy storage and gas turbines for the first time to support renewables growth; and other solutions.
