California Power Plant Reduces Need to Purchase Wholesale Electricity with Installation of GE Energy's Aeroderivative Gas Turbine Technology
2 December 2008
First Order for GE Energy's LM6000 PG Aeroderivative Gas Turbine
Power-Gen International 2008 - Booth #4600
ORLANDO, FLA. - December 2, 2008-GE Energy will provide three LM6000 PG aeroderivative gas turbines to Turlock Irrigation District (TID) for its Almond Power Plant located near Turlock, Calif., quadrupling the plant's current output and reducing the district's need to purchase wholesale electricity, helping TID meet its resource adequacy and reserve needs well into the future. This represents the first order for this recently announced update of GE's proven family of LM6000 gas turbines.
According to the California Energy Commission, the state's peak energy demands are growing at the rate of 2.4% each year. In 2007, California produced only 70% of the energy it consumed and the remainder was imported from other sources. This project will add up to 150 megawatts (MW) to TID's 50-MW Almond Power Plant. One megawatt is enough electricity to power about 300 homes in summer and about 1,000 in winter.
"This important upgrade will allow TID to contribute to California's energy goals of building sufficient generation facilities and ensuring new generation plants can quickly come online when necessary," said Darryl Wilson, general manager of GE Energy's aeroderivative business. "Leveraging a product heritage of more than 735 installed units and 16 million operating hours with more than 99% reliability, our LM6000 PG offers the advanced performance required to meet the demands of today's competitive energy industry."
Introduced just six months ago at Power-Gen Europe, the LM6000 PG offers a 25% simple-cycle power increase and an 18% boost in exhaust energy for cogeneration applications. The LM6000 PG and its dry low emissions (DLE) equivalent, the LM6000 PH, will provide combined-cycle power in the range of 65 megawatts (MW) with efficiencies ranging from 52 to 55%, depending on selected emissions control methods. The power increase comes from the same 4.5m X 21.5m package footprint as existing 50Hz LM6000 technology, yielding a power density improvement of nearly 20%.
The units at TID's Almond Power Plant are scheduled for commercial operation in the spring of 2011 and will operate on natural gas.
Since 1923, TID has been providing safe, low-cost and reliable electricity to a growing customer base that today numbers in excess of 98,000 home, farm, business, industrial and municipal accounts. It also serves more than 5,800 irrigation customers covering approximately 149,500 acres of farmland. TID's generation resources include large and small-scale hydro-electric power plants and three natural gas-fired turbine generating plants.
GE Energy's aeroderivative division is a leading supplier of aeroderivative gas turbines and packaged generator sets for industrial and marine applications. The company provides power-generating equipment to utilities, industries and marine fleets throughout the world. It is also the world's largest and most experienced aeroderivative gas turbine service provider.
About GE Energy
GE Energy (www.ge.com/energy) is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technologies, with 2007 revenue of $22 billion. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, GE Energy works in all areas of the energy industry including coal, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy; renewable resources such as water, wind, solar and biogas; and other alternative fuels. Numerous GE Energy products are certified under ecomagination, GE's corporate-wide initiative to aggressively bring to market new technologies that will help customers meet pressing environmental challenges.
About GE
GE is a diversified global infrastructure, finance and media company that is built to meet essential world needs. From energy, water, transportation and health to access to money and information, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide.
For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.ge.com. GE is Imagination at Work.
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