General Electric has offered H-Class gas turbines for the past 10 years, but GE recently spent $1 billion to create its latest and most powerful H-Class gas turbine that is just in time to help the burgeoning shale gas revolution and rapidly expanding renewable energy sector.
GE’s and the world’s largest high-efficiency gas turbine is being called the “Holy Grail” of gas turbine efficiency. Just one 7HA H-Class gas turbine produces from 275 to 500MW (megawatts) for 60Hz applications while one 9HA H-Class turbine produces from 400 to 700MW for 50Hz applications.
Four of these 7HA H-Class gas turbines are now being used together to generate 2,000 MW of electricity, enough to power 2 million homes. Last year, GE sold the four 7HA gas turbines to Exelon of Texas.
GE’s 9HA gas turbines now achieve 61% net cycle efficiency which means 61% of the natural gas processed is converted to electricity.
The reason these gas turbines are so useful is the cost-effective conversion of fuel to power and unprecedented operating flexibility that enables utilities to quickly respond to fluctuations in grid demand, thus making renewable energy use, with its fluctuations, easier and more dependable.
The following video shows the 9HA turbine:
