GE Energy to Launch 7H Gas Turbine Technology in Hydro-Quebec Production Project; 800-Megawatt Class Power Plant Planned for 2007 Operation.
Business Editors
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 13, 2004
The world's first application of GE Energy's 7H gas turbine technology - the 60-hertz version of GE's advanced H System(TM)- will be an 800-megawatt class, combined-cycle project with Hydro-Quebec Production, the generation division of Hydro-Quebec, an international leader in power generation, transmission and distribution.
The new facility, to be built at Beauharnois, Quebec, southwest of Montreal, will be based on two GE 107H combined-cycle systems. The gas-fired plant, named Suroit, will help Hydro-Quebec meet a growing need for energy in its markets. It is expected to enter commercial service in mid-2007.
"We are extremely pleased that Hydro-Quebec has selected GE and the H System for this project," said John Rice, president and CEO of GE Energy. "We recently celebrated the successful completion of validation testing and the commercial launch of our 9H, the 50-hertz version of the H System, at Baglan Bay in South Wales. Now we are teaming with Hydro-Quebec for the next power industry milestone: the first commercial project for the 60-hertz 7H system."
Canada's and Quebec's commitment to the Kyoto Protocol was one of the determining factors in Hydro-Quebec's selection of H technology for the new plant. Because of its high efficiency, the H System offers significant benefits in environmental performance. For every unit of electricity produced, the H System will use less fuel and produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to other large gas turbine combined-cycle systems.
Today's most efficient combined-cycle plants have hit a plateau in the 57-58% efficiency range; the H System moves beyond that point by offering a system that is capable of 60% while also providing a platform for continued evolutionary improvements in combined-cycle efficiency.
While the H System employs today's most advanced technology, it benefits from millions of hours of GE gas turbine experience. It also is the most thoroughly tested product introduction in GE Energy's history.
Developed by GE as part of the U.S. Department of Energy's Advanced Turbine System program, the H System features an innovative closed-loop steam cooling system which enables the higher firing temperatures required for increased efficiency. In addition to the steam cooling system, GE engineers designed the H turbine's first-stage buckets and nozzles with single-crystal materials to withstand higher temperatures over a long service life.
