Fuel Flex Capabilities of Gas Turbines in the Age of Shale Gas
(Room Nile 2)
21 Sep 17
9:00 AM
-
10:30 AM
Tracks:
Track D - Power Technologies
The global power generation industry is undergoing a fundamental change. The discovery and production of natural gas from new fields and shale formations continues to provide large gas quantities to the power generation industry. This increased supply continues to support low prices as evidenced by spot LNG prices in Japan that are near $6/MMBTU having dropped by nearly two-thirds in the last two-years. The increase in natural gas production is increasing the availability of natural gas liquids since some shale formations include a higher percentage of ethane and propane. For regions that do not have enough regional supply, shipments continue to deliver the needed supply. This includes new LPG shipments from the US to Asia through the expanded Panama Canal in 2016. The additional global supply of hydrocarbons is creating new opportunities for power generation. For example, a new combined cycle plant in Saudi Arabia will use locally available condensates as fuel, and two power plants in the US Virgin Islands are converting from diesel to 100% propane. With the large availability of these fuels, the compositions of gases for power generation are seeing increased variation. This requires a gas turbine equipped with controls and combustion technology capable of providing robust operation over a range of fuel heating values. GE’s advanced digital control and combustion systems allows F and HA-class gas turbines to be capable of operating on fuels with larger heating value variations. A key element allowing the expanded capability is a high-fidelity digital twin of the combustion system. These technologies, which have been validated with combustion testing and field operation allow for continued expansion of the gas fuel capabilities for the DLN 2.6 and 2.6+ combustion systems on GE’s F and HA-class gas turbines. This paper & presentation will detail the latest controls and combustion technology for GE’s F and HA gas turbines with a focus on gas fuel flexibility.