GE Vernova has reported start of operation at KOSPO’s Shinsejong combined cycle power plant, the 100th HA unit to be commissioned worldwide and the first 7HA.03 gas turbine in South Korea.
HA machines have accumulated more than 2.5 million commercial operating hours, with a total installed capacity of more than 53 GW.
“Demand for electricity is on the rise, and we expect it to continue to accelerate,” said Eric Gray, CEO at GE Vernova’s Gas Power business. “Many HA combined cycle power plants facilitate the coal-to gas transition and provide the necessary power to balance the variable nature of renewables, helping to ensure energy system reliability and grid stability.”
The growing fleet of operating HA gas turbines will provide a significant services backlog for GE Vernova over the long-term via maintenance and upgrade opportunities, the company notes.
With South Korea’s power generation very reliant on heavy fossil fuels today (with coal and oil covering nearly 60% of power needs, according to IEA estimates), gas power can “play a crucial role in facilitating its transition to a lower carbon future,” says GE Vernova.
The Shinsejong plant will generate power to be sold via Korea Power Exchange and provide heat for Sejong City.
Meanwhile, in the aeroderivative sector, GE Vernova has secured an order for no less than 16 of its LM6000VELOX gas turbine packages to be installed at Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Energy Complex on the Clinch River arm of Watts Bar reservoir near Kingston, Tennessee, USA. Each package consists of an LM6000 gas turbine plus generator.
The new units, expected to enter operation in 2028, with dual fuel (gas/liquids) capability, will deliver a flexible supply of up to 850 MWe to help enhance the reliability of the grid, helping TVA “meet demand during peak energy usage and supplement solar generation on days when sunshine is limited,” said TVA Chief Operating Officer Don Moul.
The LM6000, with rapid start time (“as little as 5 minutes to full power,” says GE Vernova) also offers “greater than 99 percent start and operational reliability and over 98 percent availability.”
The LM6000VELOX package, announced in October 2023, features enhancements aiming to reduce site construction times.
Another recent LM6000VELOX order reported by GE Vernova was two packages for Western Farmers Electric Cooperative’s (WFEC) to replace aging steam turbines at its Anadarko power plant, Oklahoma. The new units will significantly expand the power plant, currently powered by five LM6000 PC gas turbines (two installed and commissioned in 1999, three units installed ten years later, in 2009). When the expansion is completed, the Anadarko plant will have total of seven LM6000 gas turbines, with an installed capacity of 350 MW.
WFEC has been working with Sargent & Lundy (S&L) as owner’s engineer for the expansion project, while Fagen, Inc. is the EPC contractor. Work is expected to be completed in late 2026.
