SPARK
An energy update from GE in India
Edition - 4
NTPC and GE Gas Power partner to explore pathways to decarbonize power generation
NTPC Ltd. and GE Gas Power have signed an MoU to demonstrate the feasibility of hydrogen co-firing blended with natural gas in GE’s 9E gas turbines. These turbines are installed at NTPC’s Kawas combined-cycle gas power plant in Gujarat.
The companies will jointly explore pathways to reduce CO2 emissions from the power plant and further implementation at scale across NTPC’s installed units in India.
“NTPC, with a large fleet of power generation facilities delivering more than 70 GW across India, has been at the forefront when it comes to piloting new hydrogen-related initiatives. NTPC is committed to playing a key role in India’s energy transition journey as the country marches ahead to achieve net-zero target and climate goals. In parallel, it’s crucial to invest and effectively utilize the proven technology that can generate electricity, which is affordable, accessible and reliable. This MoU is among the steps we are taking in the direction to meet the objectives under the National Hydrogen Mission. As our collaboration with GE grows deeper, we are more focused to use advanced technology and leverage our gas power assets with higher percentage of zero-carbon fuels such as H2, as the availability of the fuel becomes viable,” says, Ujjwal Kanti Bhattacharya, Director (Projects), NTPC Ltd.
“India’s power landscape is strengthened by the emerging technologies that are at various stages of development and industrial competitiveness. Hydrogen has a significant potential to play a complementary role along with other low-to-zero carbon fuels in generating electricity at scale. We applaud NTPC’s leadership, commitment and investment in hydrogen that can further set new industry benchmarks in terms of discovering low-cost hydrogen industry going forward and achieving energy self-reliance,” shares Deepesh Nanda, CEO, GE Gas Power South Asia.
LM Wind Power produces 50,000th wind turbine blade in India
LM Wind Power, a GE Renewable Energy business, recently completed the production of the 50,000th wind turbine blade at its manufacturing site in Vadodara, Gujarat. The milestone demonstrates the company's commitment towards clean and sustainable energy.
Over the past three decades, LM Wind Power has been designing and producing longer, lighter, and more reliable blades that have played a key role in the global installation of over 29 GW of wind power.
LM Wind Power’s operations in India began in 1994 with the production of the 13.4-meter blades in Hoskote, near Bangalore. Today, the length of the blades produced in LM Wind Power factories in India exceeds 80 meters. Currently, about 70% of blades manufactured in LM Wind Power’s Indian factories are exported, supporting the Government of India’s vision of ‘Make in India, Make for World’. LM Wind Power also operates a model factory in Dabaspet, Bangalore that is recognized for its industry leading amenities in addition to the site in Vadodara, Gujarat.
Is there a correlation between more hydrogen and lower CO2 emissions?
New York Power Authority (NYPA), GE, the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and others collaborated to conduct a pilot project to replace natural gas with a green hydrogen/natural gas blend. The results so far are very encouraging.
The project was conducted at the Brentwood Power Station on Long Island, to explore how varying percentages of hydrogen fuel perform in the power station’s equipment and what the emissions impact would be.
Using GE's LM6000 aeroderivative gas turbine fueled by blends of 5% to 40% (by volume) hydrogen over several weeks, the project showed a clear correlation between more hydrogen and lower CO2 emissions. The rates were reduced by approximately 14% at 35% by volume hydrogen cofiring. Nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and ammonia levels were also kept below regulatory limits.
“EPRI and [its] Low-Carbon Resources Initiative are accelerating deployment of a full portfolio of energy technologies to support a net-zero future,” says Neva Espinoza, EPRI’s vice president of energy supply and low-carbon resources. “As industry and government seek innovative energy solutions, NYPA’s hydrogen blending demonstration is uncovering new insights with implications well beyond New York.”
GE's aeroderivative gas turbines — i.e., turbines derived from a jet engine — are capable of running on blends of up to 85% hydrogen, while some configurations of the company’s HA class of gas turbines can run on up to 50% hydrogen. Overall, GE turbines have logged more than 8 million operating hours using blends of hydrogen by over 100 customers in 20 countries.
“As the most experienced gas turbine equipment manufacturer with hydrogen and similar low-BTU fuels, GE is proud to collaborate with NYPA, EPRI, and many others to deliver this important demonstration project,” shares Eric Gray, president and CEO of GE Gas Power. “Efforts like the Green Hydrogen Demonstration Project are vital to validate the important role that hydrogen can play in lowering carbon emissions from power generation while also providing reliable and affordable power.”
“Decarbonizing the power sector will require a collaborative, multi-pronged approach, including the use of new technologies and additional renewable power resources,” says Justin E. Driscoll, interim president and CEO of New York Power Authority.
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