GE Energy has launched its first 510MW FlexEfficiency 50 Combined Cycle power plant, developed with an investment of $500m.
The plant is equipped with GE’s next-generation 9FB Gas Turbine that operates at 50 Hz, a 109D-14 Steam Turbine, which runs on the waste heat produced by the gas turbine, GE’s advanced W28 Generator, a Mark VIe integrated control system that links all of the technologies and a heat recovery steam generator.
GE’s plant offers 61% higher fuel efficiency and will ramp up at a rate of 50MW per minute and will be capable of delivering energy to power more than 600,000 E.U. homes.
The plant is a combination of flexibility and efficiency which will enable the integration of more renewable resources into the power grid.
GE Energy president for Western Europe and North Africa Ricardo said the as the global energy demand is set to double by 2030, and electricity generation accounts for 40% of greenhouse gas emissions, utilities and government bodies are looking at ways to produce power more efficiently.
"This innovation can have a dramatic effect on CO2 emissions and offers a nimble, efficient and cost-effective way for us to help E.U. countries in their pursuit of 20-20-20 energy goals," added Cordoba.