GE 7E 3-Series Gas Turbine Selected to Help Montana-Dakota Utilities Meet Peak Demand
7E 3-Series’ Quick-Start Capability Helps to Meet Peak Power Requirements
Regional Energy Supplier Picks Proven, Reliable and Flexible Technology
BISMARCK, N.D. -- To help meet the region’s power demands, Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. (MDU) will install a GE (NYSE: GE) 7E 3-series gas turbine, formerly known as 7EA, adjacent to Montana-Dakota’s coal-fired Heskett Generating Station near Mandan, N.D. Operating on pipeline natural gas, the 7E 3-series will generate 88 megawatts of power when it begins commercial service in 2014.
Since introducing the 7E 3-series gas turbine more than 40 years ago, GE has continued to update and improve the technology, positioning it to meet the changing needs of today’s energy industry. The 7E 3-series has demonstrated durability and highly reliable starting capability in nearly 1,200 operating units with more than 29 million hours of service across a wide range of applications.
“We needed to add a reliable, proven gas turbine to our fleet, to ensure that we can meet our growing capacity needs,” said Alan Welte, generation director for Montana-Dakota Utilities. “We are confident in GE technology and were looking for a gas turbine that is highly reliable and cost-effective.”
The 7E 3-series gas turbine features low emissions. Operating with GE’s Dry Low NOx combustion technology, the 7E 3-series can achieve industry-leading emissions, enabling users to meet today’s increasingly stringent air quality standards.
“Due to the simplicity of its durable architecture, the 7E 3-series gas turbine offers industry-leading starting reliability and can come to full speed in less than 10 minutes,” said Paul Browning, president and CEO Thermal Products, GE Power Water. “This allows the 7E 3-series to excel in peaking power applications, also making it an excellent fit for the quick addition of supplemental power to compensate for the intermittency of renewable energy.“
Created in 1924 to serve a handful of small communities, Montana-Dakota has grown into a large regional energy supplier. Today, it is a division of MDU Resources Group, Inc., a diversified natural resource company based in Bismarck, N.D. (NYSE: MDU). Montana-Dakota provides retail natural gas and/or electric service to parts of Montana, North and South Dakota and Wyoming. Bottom of Form
About GE
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About GE Power Water
GE Power Water provides customers with a broad array of power generation, energy delivery and water process technologies to solve their challenges locally. Power & Water works in all areas of the energy industry including renewable resources such as wind and solar, biogas and alternative fuels; and coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy. The business also develops advanced technologies to help solve the world’s most complex challenges related to water availability and quality. Power & Water’s six business units include Distributed Power, Nuclear Energy, Power Generation Services, Renewable Energy, Thermal Products and Water & Process Technologies. Headquartered in Schenectady, N.Y., Power & Water is GE’s largest industrial business.
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