Siemens Targets Record Levels of Power Plant Efficiency

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--German engineering firm Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) (Munich, Germany) is promising record levels of power plant efficiency with its new HL-class gas turbines.

The company said the HL turbines can push efficiency levels from the current industry high of 61.5% to 63% as standard and as high as 65% in the mid-term.

The new HL-class consists of three engines: SGT5-9000HL, SGT6-9000HL and SGT5-8000HL. In simple-cycle operation the air-cooled SGT-9000HL gas turbine will provide a capacity of 545 megawatts (MW) for the 50-Hertz market and 374 MW in the 60-Hertz version. SGT5-8000HL will provide 453 MW in simple-cycle operation. The company stated that all engines reach "more than 63% combined-cycle efficiency."

"Driven by digitalization, speed in technology development is rapidly gaining momentum in the power generation arena," said Willi Meixner, chief executive officer of the Siemens Power and Gas Division. "It took us 10 years from 2000 to 2010 to increase the efficiency of our combined-cycle power plants from 58% to 60%, a further six years to reach 61.5% in 2016, and now we are taking the next step to 63% and beyond."

Siemens said that it will validate the technologies of the HL-class at the Lincoln County site in Stanley, North Carolina, owned by Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) (Charlotte, North Carolina). The project will see the construction of a 400-MW natural gas-fired, simple-cycle combustion turbine-generator package plus balance of plant equipment. It will kick off in late 2018 for completion in 2020. The proposed unit will be the most efficient combustion turbine in the Duke Energy fleet and about 25% more efficient than the existing Lincoln County turbines. Industrial Info has detailed information of the project and two additional future Lincoln power projects in its database. For additional information, see August 4, 2017, article - Duke Progresses with Natural Gas Power, Pipeline Projects.

Siemens said that the HL-class operate at high combustion temperatures that required the development of more advanced combustion technologies, innovative multi-layer coatings, super-efficient internal cooling features as well as an optimised water-steam cycle. They also feature new sealings to minimise cooling and air leakage while 3D-blading allows for higher aero-efficiency for the compressor.

Meixner added: "Worldwide we see that renewables are growing rapidly, but gas-fired power plants will still play a vital role in the energy mix for the next decades. With the growing share of fluctuation power from renewables, flexibility will be a key feature of gas turbines. Our HL-class offers a simple-cycle ramp-up of 85 MW per minute. Therefore, highly efficient and flexible gas turbines like our HL-class are the perfect fit to energy systems with a rapidly increasing share of fluctuating renewables."

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