Wind and solar power are popular but quirky. They produce near zero-emissions electricity, but on a cloudy and calm day, they need backup from traditional power sources.
Last week, General Electric, this magazine’s sponsor, introduced its FlexEfficiency 50, a super-efficient natural gas power plant designed to solve these new power generation issues.
The 510-megawatt (MW) FlexEfficieny 50, which will be installed first in France, can adjust to the swings caused by renewable power on the grid while maintaining a fuel efficiency of 61 percent. Other power sources, such as coal and even older gas turbines, can’t respond as quickly or efficiently.
Accelerating adoption of renewables
The plant consists of a gas turbine working in tandem with a steam turbine that is powered by waste heat – a configuration called “combined cycle.” It will provide power to about 600,000 homes, according to GE.
Gallery: GE’s FlexEfficiency 50 Power Plant
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- Steam Turbine
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- Generator
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- GE’s 9FB Turbine
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- The 9FB CC Plant
“We expect this FlexEfficiency breakthrough to help take advantage of abundant natural gas while we simultaneously carve a fresh path to accelerate wider adoption of renewable energy, all with less impact on natural resources,” said Steve Bolze, president and CEO of GE Power & Water, in a prepared release.
According to Jim Donohue, GE’s manager of Heavy Duty Gas Turbine marketing, the FlexEfficiency 50 is “flexible” in several different ways,
- It can start up in as little as 30 minutes, so it is able to respond to unexpected shifts in demand.
- It can be turned down to a low level of output – about 40 percent of capacity – and still maintain compliance with emissions standards. This allows it to be on standby to smooth out demand spikes.
- When the plant is operating in a range between 40 percent and 100 percent of capacity it has a “ramp rate” of about 50 MW a minute – twice as fast as most plants. “You can be parked at 300 MW and turn it up to 350 MW in a minute,” Donohue said.
The ability to deploy massive amounts of power quickly means that more wind and solar can be integrated into the grid without fear of disruption to the power supply.
A power plant like a hybrid car
The plant’s efficiency and its low emissions profile also allows the FlexEfficiency 50 to back up renewables without undermining the good they do for the environment.
Donohue likens the FlexEfficiency concept to a hybrid car: “Baseload efficiency is kind of like your highway miles,” he said. That is, when a power plant is operating at high capacity, it is burning less fuel. Many natural gas plants operating in combined cycle achieve more than 50 percent efficiency but the FlexEfficiency 50’s efficiency rating of 61 percent equates to world-class highway mileage.
What really separates the FlexEfficiency 50 from other natural gas plants is its ability to start, stop and accelerate rapidly and efficiently. Donohue equates this to a hybrid car’s performance in the city.
“I really feel that it has the best of both worlds,” Donohue said.