GE’s New Gas Turbines Play Nicely With Renewables -

GE's new gas turbine plays nice with renewables another small step to a very smart & resilient grid

New generations of gas turbines used in large power plants don’t come around that often. Last week General Electric launched a set of 60 Hz gas turbines, intended for use in the U.S., Japan, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere, complementing a group of 50 Hz gas turbines introduced last year for use in Europe, much of Asia, and Africa. Together, these FlexEfficiency turbines represent a new generation of gas turbine technology, the first totally new design since the late 80s, said Eric Gebhardt, vice president of thermal engineering for GE Energy. And what a difference a couple of decades makes. The FlexEfficiency turbines will be able to rapidly increase or decrease power output. This is important when gas generation facilities are combined with renewables like wind and solar. Gas turbines designed in the 80s, explained Gebhardt, were optimized for efficiency, overall availabilit...

Full article: http://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/energy/fossil-fuels/g...