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Gas Power

GE Vernova’s advanced technology to help LG&E and KU further diversify utilities’ portfolio of safe, reliable, affordable and sustainable energy

8 min read
  • GE Vernova to power a new natural gas combined cycle generating unit (NGCC) at LG&E and KU’s existing Mill Creek Generating Station, with an expected project completion of 2027.

  • The utilities’ latest NGCC, dubbed Mill Creek Unit 5 (MC5), will feature GE Vernova’s most advanced power generation equipment and technology.

Atlanta, Georgia: April 11, 2024 – GE Vernova’s Gas Power business (NYSE: GEV) today announced it has secured an order for its 7HA.03 combined-cycle plant equipment from Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company (LG&E and KU), regulated utilities that are part of the PPL family of companies (NYSE: PPL), to power a new natural gas combined-cycle generating unit (NGCC) at the utilities’ existing Mill Creek Generating Station in Louisville, Kentucky.

Last year, the Kentucky Public Service Commission approved LG&E and KU’s plans to retire two aging coal generation units and build a new NGCC at its Mill Creek Generating Station. The commission also approved solar energy projects, battery storage, and a suite of energy efficiency programs.

“We’re proud to serve the communities in which our employees live and work at the lowest reasonable cost, and the addition of a new NGCC at our Mill Creek Generating Station – which has provided ‘round the clock’ energy to our customers for decades – is an important part of how we’re continuing to plan for Kentucky’s energy future in a responsible, affordable and reliable way”, said Lonnie Bellar, senior vice president, Engineering and Construction. “We’re also proud to partner with GE Vernova on bringing to life what will be the most advanced NGCC generating unit in our fleet”.

MC5 is expected to have an output of approximately 645-megawatts (MW) and will feature the most advanced GE Vernova 7HA.03 gas turbine, which will be fueled initially by natural gas, with the ability to utilize up to 50 percent hydrogen (by volume) as hydrogen becomes more available in the future.

GE Vernova will also provide a STF-D650 steam turbine along with a W86 generator, a Vogt Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) and its integrated Mark* VIe control system for gas turbine performance management. NGCCs, like MC5, have the lowest carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and other emissions of all fossil-fuel powered generation.

“GE Vernova’s advanced HA gas turbines produce less than one-third of the carbon emissions of a similar coal-fired generating station, so constructing a NGCC works in harmony with LG&E and KU’s future carbon reduction plans by incorporating the potential of hydrogen-based fuels and carbon-capture technologies”, said Dave Ross, President of GE Vernova’s Gas Power in the Americas region. “We are honored to support LG&E and KU in this project, not only through bringing our advanced HA power generation equipment, but also by working to ensure its best operation through the deployment of controls software and remote monitoring abilities well into the future”.

The performance of the new 7HA.03 gas turbine includes a highly flexible ramp rate of 75MW/min as validated at GE Vernova’s Test Stand 7 in Greenville, South Carolina.

GE Vernova will also provide services to help increase operational efficiency, expected to generate key savings in maintenance costs due to less unplanned maintenance for the combustion turbines. Data collected from sensors throughout the facility will be monitored and analyzed 24/7 at GE Vernova’s Monitoring & Diagnostics (M&D) Center in Atlanta.

The plant will be built by TIC—The Industrial Company, a subsidiary of Kiewit, one of North America’s largest engineering and construction companies.

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Forward Looking Statements
This document contains forward-looking statements – that is, statements related to future events that by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. These forward-looking statements often address GE Vernova’s expected future business and financial performance and financial condition, and the expected performance of its products, the impact of its services and the results they may generate or produce, and often contain words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “seek,” “see,” “will,” “would,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “target,” “preliminary,” or “range.” Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain, such as statements about planned and potential transactions, investments or projects and their expected results and the impacts of macroeconomic and market conditions and volatility on the Company’s business operations, financial results and financial position and on the global supply chain and world economy.

About LG&E and KU
Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company, part of the PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL) family of companies, are regulated utilities that serve more than 1.3 million customers and have consistently ranked among the best companies for customer service in the United States. LG&E serves 335,000 natural gas and 436,000 electric customers in Louisville and 16 surrounding counties. KU serves 545,000 customers in 77 Kentucky counties and 28,000 in five counties in Virginia. More information is available at www.lge-ku.com and www.pplweb.com.

© 2024 GE Vernova and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved.
GE is a trademark of General Electric Company and is used under trademark license

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Gas Power

GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE: GEV) is a purpose-built global energy company that includes Power, Wind, and Electrification segments and is supported by its accelerator businesses. Building on over 130 years of experience tackling the world’s challenges, GE Vernova is uniquely positioned to help lead the energy transition by continuing to electrify the world while simultaneously working to decarbonize it. GE Vernova helps customers power economies and deliver electricity that is vital to health, safety, security, and improved quality of life. GE Vernova is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S., with more than 80,000 employees across 100+ countries around the world. Supported by the Company’s purpose, The Energy to Change the World, GE Vernova technology helps deliver a more affordable, reliable, sustainable, and secure energy future. Learn more: GE Vernova and LinkedIn. GE Vernova’s Gas Power business engineers advanced, efficient natural gas-powered technologies and services, along with decarbonization solutions that aim to help electrify a lower carbon future. It is a global leader in gas turbines and power plant technologies and services with the industry’s largest installed base. 

GE Vernova’s mission is embedded in its name – it retains its legacy, “GE,” as an enduring and hard-earned badge of quality and ingenuity. “Ver” / “verde” signal Earth’s verdant and lush ecosystems. “Nova,” from the Latin “novus,” nods to a new, innovative era of lower carbon energy. 

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Mill Creek Generating Station in Louisville, Kentucky
Image credit: Mill Creek Generating Station in Louisville, Kentucky
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Laura Aresi
GE Vernova | Media Relations Leader, Power
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