By Renewable Energy Focus staff

The 510 MW power plant recovers the waste heat from the exhaust from the gas turbine and coverts it into steam used to power a steam turbine. The plant can ramp up or down at a rate of 50 MW per minute – said to be twice as fast as industry benchmarks.

“As our customers seek to increase their use of renewable energy, the challenge of grid stability sharpens. They are under added pressure to achieve higher levels of efficiency and lower emissions for natural gas power plants. The FlexEfficiency 50 plant creates an immense growth opportunity in a new segment for our gas turbine technology and is in lock-step with our commitment to build a cleaner energy future,” says Paul Browning, Vice President Thermal Products for GE Power & Water.

“For years we have been working to develop technology that can, in the same breath, deliver breakthrough efficiency and deal head-on with the challenge of grid variability caused by wind and solar. The need for combined flexibility and efficiency is even more pressing as countries around the world establish new emissions standards.”

Steve Bolze, President and CEO of GE Power & Water, adds: “Much of today’s power generation technology is serving yesterday’s power grid. Institutions and individuals everywhere are looking for cost-efficient ways to use solar, wind and gas energy on a large scale. But they often assume that renewable energy can simply plug-in to the existing power grid.”