Georgia Power unveils first new natural gas turbine in 10 years

Caption

New natural gas turbine delivered to Georgia Power’s Plant Yates.

Credit: Georgia Power

The first of three new Mitsubishi Power natural gas turbines has arrived at Plant Yates in Coweta County, Georgia Power announced Friday in a news release.

The nearly 350-ton turbine, built at Mitsubishi Power’s Savannah plant, is Georgia Power’s first new natural gas unit in a decade. When all three units are in service, they will provide 1,300 megawatts of power for customers.

The new turbine at Plant Yates can generate more electricity while using less fuel than older models, according to the release.

“For a megawatt hour of electricity produced with the older units, you’d save about 3% of the fuel to get that same megawatt hour in the new configuration .... which might sound like a small increment, but every percentage is a pretty big deal.” said Dr. Benjamin Emerson, principal research engineer at Georgia Tech.

The turbine’s air-cooled design eliminates the need for steam cooling, allowing a faster start-up time of about 30 minutes and a lower turn-down rate. The design also significantly reduces water withdrawals and consumption compared with steam-cooled systems, which rely heavily on cooling water — the primary source of water use in gas turbines, according to Valerie Thomas, Anderson Interface Chair of Natural Systems at Georgia Tech.

A lower turn-down rate means the plant can be turned down more when it is less needed, therefore using less fuel and making the turbine operate more efficiently when demand is lower.

The older models can’t always be turned on and off easily, so they sometimes idle even when demand is low, consuming fuel and producing emissions. Frequently shutting off and starting up the turbine also wears it down and increases costs, so a lower turn-down capability lets the plant burn less fuel while idling, reducing both emissions and wear, Emerson explained.

In addition to being more efficient, the new combustion turbines have a lesser impact on the climate than older models too. “In practice, the turbine’s climate impact, measured in amount of CO2 per kWh produced, will be about 10% lower that it would have been with an older model of gas turbine,” said Thomas.

Potential for using hydrogen fuel, reducing emissions

With small modifications, the turbine has the potential to use a hydrogen fuel blend, reducing emissions further. “With minor future modifications, the M501JAC is also capable of using a hydrogen mix as a fuel,” the release reads. “Blending technology continues to advance as an option across the industry in the pursuit of reduced carbon emissions, and Georgia Power is leading the way in this innovative research, recently partnering with Mitsubishi Power for a 50% hydrogen-blending project at Plant McDonough-Atkinson.”

The units have built-in flexibility to run on oil, with on-site oil storage capability to provide reliability and resiliency benefits to the electric system, according to the release.

Plant Yates will create jobs

The three new units at Plant Yates will create about 600 construction jobs and 15 permanent positions, expanding the plant’s workforce to 75, the release said.

Natural gas currently provides 40 percent of Georgia Power’s annual energy generation. “Natural gas is also a part of a recent with the PSC,” the release reads. “The filing includes the request to certify five new combined cycle (CC) units, totaling 3,692 MW, to be strategically located across the state to help ensure grid stability and reliability, and support the state’s economic growth in the coming years. The units are proposed to be placed at Plants Bowen, McIntosh and Wansley.”

This story comes to GPB through a reporting partnership with Macon Telegraph.