Siemens H achieves full power

摘要

Apiece of gas turbine history was made towards the end of April at E.ON's Irsching 4 site when the world's most powerful air cooled gas turbine (and probably the largest gas turbine of any type yet built) - the Siemens SGT5-8000H - achieved "baseload" operation (ie its 100% power level of around 340 MW) for the first time. This was part of a major programme of product validation testing currently underway. Another important milestone had been reached on 7 March, with first grid synchronisation of the new machine. The basic product strategy for the Siemens H class turbine, established seven or eight years ago, as well as requiring a combined cycle net efficiency of over 60%, emphasised the need for fast start capability and high operational flexibility - leading to the choice of a fully air-cooled machine, and the eschewing of any kind of steam cooling. This strategy has proved remarkably robust. Indeed, the value the market attaches to these characteristics seems to have increased markedly recently, not least because of greater amounts of wind power on the grid.