GE Ships 1,000th Aeroderivative Gas Turbine, Marking 19 Years of Providing Reliable, Efficient Power for Emerging Markets
GE's LM6000 to Help Power Black Hills Corp's New Generation Station at Pueblo Airport
CINCINNATI, OHIO - GE (NYSE: GE) today announced the shipment of its 1,000th LM6000 aeroderivative gas turbine to Black Hills Corp. as part of its Pueblo Airport Generation Station being constructed in Pueblo, Colo. GE's 1,000 LM6000 gas turbines produced to date have accumulated 21.8 million operating hours for 260 customers in 43 countries on six different continents, including in 37 of the 50 United States.
"GE's innovative LM6000 aeroderivative gas turbines will allow us to provide the best service possible to our customers," said Mark Lux, vice president and general manager, Power Delivery, Black Hills Corp. "We have a long history with GE and are excited to help them mark this important milestone and celebrate their history of providing solutions that help increase productivity and efficiency."
Of the 1,000 LM6000 gas turbines produced by GE, 748 have single annular combustors and 252 have dry low emissions combustors. The customer with the largest fleet is Petrobras with 42 units, and GDF Suez Group has the largest DLE fleet installed with 28 units.
"From the time the first unit began commercial operation in 1992 at the Ottawa Health Services facility to the shipment of the 1,000th unit, our LM6000 aeroderivative gas turbine has become the only gas turbine in the world with simple-cycle efficiency greater than 40 percent and dry low emissions combustion technology that guarantees less than 15ppm NOx,," said Darryl Wilson, vice president-aeroderivative gas turbines for GE Power & Water. "This latest milestone exemplifies GE's commitment to providing innovative technology that aims to meet environmental challenges throughout the world and helps our customers be successful and productive."
Other facts about the LM6000 that make this milestone significant include:
oHigh time unit has more than 114,000 hours.
o Units have been installed as far north as Statoil's Snohvit LNG plant (north of the Arctic Circle) and units closest to the Equator are in Guayquil, Ecuador.
o In addition to today's announcement near the Pueblo, Colo. airport, LM6000 gas turbines have been installed at other major airports such as Toronto, New York's JFK and Paris Charles de Gaulle.
o GE's LM6000 aeroderivative gas turbines back up wind farms in Texas and Kansas.
o The LM6000 supports the grids in or near major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, Mexico City and Tokyo.
o Of the 1,000 units installed worldwide, 13 have been installed offshore.
o The LM6000 has been installed in many various industries including: more than 20 in mining operations for gold, nickel, iron and coal; in the food processing industry as sugar, chocolates and orange juice; and in industrial applications such as automobile, tires, cement plants, aluminum smelters, refineries, chemicals and paper mills.
Black Hills Corp. is scheduled to set its four LM6000 aeroderivative gas turbines from GE on their foundation in February 2011. The generation facility is expected to be in service by Jan. 1, 2012.
The Pueblo Airport Generation Station will consist of four units: two Black Hills Energy-Colorado Electric utility-owned, natural gas-fired GE LMS100 units and two Black Hills Colorado IPP-owned, high-efficiency, combined-cycle units. Each of the combined-cycle units will consist of two 40-megawatt natural gas-fired GE LM6000 turbines and one 20-MW steam turbine.
Today's milestone announcement builds on GE's announcement on Oct. 7, 2010, that the LM6000-PG and LM6000-PH, the latest enhancements of the proven LM6000 aeroderivative gas turbine product line, had both hit critical validation testing milestones. The LM6000-PG completed more than 160 hours of validation testing and exceeded performance expectations. The LM6000-PH, which is the dry low emissions equivalent of the PG, began first engine to test qualifications in late 2010. The new LM6000-PH engine package includes the latest advancements in dry low emissions (DLE 2.0) technology. In addition, the next-generation LM6000-PG with single annular combustor began package testing at GE's manufacturing facility in Houston, Texas.
Black Hills Corporation
Black Hills Corp. - a diversified energy company with a tradition of exemplary service and a vision to be the energy partner of choice - is based in Rapid City, S.D., with corporate offices in Denver, and Omaha, Neb. The company serves 763,300 natural gas and electric utility customers in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. The company's non-regulated businesses generate wholesale electricity, produce natural gas, oil and coal, and market energy. Black Hills employees partner to produce results that improve life with energy. More information is available at www.blackhillscorp.com.
About GE
GE (NYSE: GE) is a diversified infrastructure, finance and media company taking on the world's toughest challenges. From aircraft engines and power generation to financial services, health care solutions and television programming, GE operates in more than 100 countries and employs about 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.
GE serves the energy sector by developing and deploying technology that helps make efficient use of natural resources. With nearly 85,000 global employees and 2009 revenues of $40 billion, GE Energy www.ge.com/energy is one of the world's leading suppliers of power generation and energy delivery technologies. The businesses that comprise GE Energy-GE Power & Water, GE Energy Services and GE Oil & Gas-work together to provide integrated product and service solutions 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.
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