Turbine developments | GT26 upgrade by GE…
From left to right, Enfield, Dock Sud and Keppel Merlimau Cogen
GE has reported successful completion of its first GT26 HE (High Efficiency) upgrade, at Uniper’s Enfield combined cycle plant, north London, UK.
The upgrade, which improves performance and extends the maintenance interval, “exceeded the guaranteed performance values and met all other requirements”, said GE. The company has also announced new orders for the upgrade, for Enel Argentina’s Central Dock Sud plant (Buenos Aires) and the Keppel Merlimau Cogen plant, Jurong Island, Singapore.
“The GT26 gas turbine at Uniper’s Enfield site is the world’s first GT26 unit equipped with the HE upgrade to achieve H-class performance levels approaching 60% combined cycle efficiency, demonstrating the significant technological investment GE has made in this upgrade”, commented Amit Kulkarni, head of product management for heavy duty gas turbines, GE Gas Power. “This upgrade for a key Uniper facility, in addition to the co-operation agreement to decarbonise Uniper’s gas-fired power plants and storage facilities with GE technology, will enhance Uniper’s leading efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of their generation fleet.”
“Increasing efficiency and output, whilst lowering carbon emissions and operational,
and maintenance costs, is crucial for the long-term success of our fleet”, said Simon Balmer, operations director, gas turbine fleet, Uniper. “As the first power producer to receive this technology, we checked the accuracy of the modelled configuration data compared to actual performance, and the results have confirmed that the upgrade has met the expected benefits in terms of performance and efficiency.”
A specifically engineered instrumentation network collected data from selected components and systems – compressor, combustor, turbines and cooling systems – during the first implementation campaign. Testing included over 2000 sensors providing data to GE’s engineering team to confirm safe and reliable operation. Operability, combustion characteristics, aeromechanics and key engine parameters were all within GE´s engineering acceptance criteria and the unit was successfully released for commercial operation. GE says the GT26 HE upgrade “delivers a breakthrough technology step, an innovation comparable to the first introduction of the GT26 gas turbine in 1998.”
The test results confirmed key performance benefits of the upgrade1
:
● Up to 2 percentage points increased efficiency at baseload, translating to as much
as $4 million in fuel savings annually per unit.
● Up to 1 percentage point increased efficiency at part load, yielding up to $1 million in fuel savings a year per unit.
● Increased plant output of up to 25 MW per unit.
● Inspection intervals extended up to 32 000 hours, reducing long-term maintenance costs.
The 755 MW Dock Sud power station has been in commercial operation since 2001. With the installation of the HE upgrade on its two GT26 gas turbines, by the end of next year, capacity is expected to be increased by more than 100 MW. The HE upgrade is being engineered to maintain the facility’s dual fuel capability (diesel backup fuel in winter in case of natural gas shortage) and to allow full retirement of the plant’s high-fogging system, securing an additional 45 MW during summer, resulting in substantial cost savings.
The GT 26 HE upgrade for Keppel Merlimau Cogen is also scheduled for installation in the second half of 2022.
Indicative values based on the GT26 2006 4000 full load hours yearly, $7/MMBtu fuel price, and $57/MWh electricity price
[1]
… and Ansaldo Energia
During spring 2023, within a scheduled major inspection, Ansaldo Energia plans to implement the first MXL3 GT26 gas turbine upgrade, at Engie’s Maxima-Flevo combined cycle power plant, unit 5. With increased performance, reduced CO2
footprint and H2 co-firing readiness,
the upgrade will provide Engie with “best-in-class gas turbine technology”, says Ansaldo Energia. The MXL3 upgrade package, which “features latest H-class technology”, will deliver up to 25 MW more gas turbine power output at an increased gas turbine efficiency in excess of 1.5
percentage points. In addition, the maintenance interval will be extended to 40 000 EOH (equivalent operating hours), the same interval enabled by the well-established MXL2 upgrade. As well as giving operators improved performance, including “best-in-class turndown ratio” and high availability, the MXL3 upgrade (like the MXL2 package) also provides enhanced operational flexibility, notes Ansaldo Energia, with the ability to switch between ‘performance’ optimised mode and ‘maintenance cost’ optimised mode depending on market conditions.
26 | July/August 2021 |
www.modernpowersystems.com
The MXL3 upgrade will boost the maximum output of Maxima-Flevo CCGT unit 5 by up to 35 MW “and will make it the first F-Class based combined cycle plant in central west Europe to reach more than 60% efficiency”, says Ansaldo Energia.
The MXL3 upgrade also improves fuel flexibility and allows the co-firing of hydrogen up to 45% by volume, “with no additional changes to the gas turbine hardware.”
Engie is looking to implement the MXL3 retrofit across its European GT26 fleet.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89
