Exelon has become the first US utility to opt for GE's new H class all-air-cooled gas turbine, placing an order for four 330 MW 7HA.02 machines, together with two D600 steam turbines, six generators, and service agreements. The equipment will be deployed in two 2-on-1 combined cycle plants, at Wolf Hollow (near Dallas) and at Colorado Bend (near Houston), each with an installed capacity of nearly 1000 MW, due to be operational in 2017.
The Exelon award brings the total number of HA gas turbines ordered to date to 13, with 15 additional units committed. The thirteen orders include the lead commercial HA unit, that to be installed at EDF's Bouchain plant in France (9HA.01 in single shaft arrangement), a 9HA.01 for the Kazan CHP-3 project in Russia, a 9HA.01 for Hokkaido Electric's Iashikariwan Shinko unit 1 in Japan (single shaft), and six 7HA.01 turbines for Chubu Electric's 3-on-1 combined cycle plants at Nishi Nagoya, also in Japan.
Among the committed units are three 9HA.01 gas turbines for Trafford Power and two for Thorpe Marsh, which are combined cycle plants which Carlton Power plans to build, depending on the outcome of the UK's planned capacity auction.
Testing of the first 9HA.01 gas turbine is currently underway at GE's Greenville validation facility and the test programme is expected to take until January 2015. The Greenville facility will then be equipped with a 7HA.01 gas turbine, with testing scheduled to start in October 2015.
First firing of the Bouchain 9HA is expected in November 2015, with commercial operation in mid 2016.
The Exelon projects will be the first in the world to use 7HA.02 gas turbines, with commercial operation of Wolf Hollow scheduled for May 2017, a month ahead of the current schedule for Nishi-Nagoya, the lead 7HA.01 plant.
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