Uniper and GE have completed an upgrade at Uniper’s Enfield power station in north London.
This is the first time GE has completed such an upgrade for the ‘GT26’ gas turbine used at Enfield. “We were pleased to work with GE to enhance our Enfield plant’s competitiveness with the GT26HE upgrade. Increasing efficiency and output, whilst lowering carbon emissions, operational, and maintenance costs, is crucial for the long-term success of our fleet” said Simon Balmer, operations director, gas turbine fleet, Uniper.
“GE has invested significantly in the development of this upgrade. We are excited that the GT26 gas turbine at Uniper’s Enfield site is the world’s first GT26 unit equipped with the HE upgrade to achieve H-class performance levels approaching 60% combined cycle efficiency, demonstrating the significant technological investment GE has made in this upgrade” said Amit Kulkarni, head of product management for heavy duty gas turbines, GE Gas Power.
The GT26 upgrade process is expected to improve efficiency in baseload by up to 2 percentage points, which GE says could save $4 million in fuel costs per year. In part-load operation it will increase efficiency by up to 1 percentage point, with fuel savings of up to $1 million per year. The upgrade will also add 25MW to the plant capacity and lengthen inspection intervals (to 32,000 hours), reducing maintenance costs and increasing availability to the market.