A heritage of quality
More than 60 years of experience
We've been designing combined-cycle power plants since 1949, longer than any other OEM. Gas turbines have evolved from relatively small, simple peaking machines to much larger combined-cycle plants capable of powering a city. GE draws on this rich technology heritage and continues to innovate, developing advanced materials, cooling, aerodynamics, combustion, and controls technologies to enhance gas turbine-based power generation.
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Our customers power the world
Our customers build and operate the world’s most cost-effective and reliable power plants. It is GE’s mission to provide high-performing power plants that help maintain our customers’ position as world leaders in performance and quality.
Meeting diverse needs and applications
GE’s comprehensive and integrated plant approach results in customized power systems that meet a variety of customer needs and applications, including:
- Industrial and utility scale power
- Combined heat and power (CHP)
- District heating
- Integrated gasification combined cycle
- Integrated water and power production (IWPP)
Breaking the plant down into its parent systems
GE’s integrated systems approach includes analysis and development of not only the power generation equipment components but also the balance of plant systems. Performance and cost are measured at both the component and plant level to increase customer value. GE accomplishes this by segmenting the plant into its major systems. At the center of each system are GE’s power generation offerings: gas turbines, steam turbines, generators, heat recovery steam generators, and controls.
A closer look
Plant configurations
While every power plant is unique, there are three categories of plant configurations:
Simple cycle
Applications
- Peaking power
- Emergent power demands (can later be converted to combined cycle)
- Mechanical drive
Advantages
- Lowest CAPEX
- Shortest construction cycle
- Easily scalable for growth
Disadvantages
- Lower efficiency compared to combined-cycle
- Higher specific emissions
Single shaft
Applications
- Mid-merit to baseload
- Grid connected, utility scale
- Combined Heat and Power (CHP)
Advantages
- Smallest footprint/highest power density (MW/m2)
- Easily scalable for growth
- Lower CAPEX and lower $/kW compared to multi-shaft
Disadvantages
- Longer construction time than simple cycle
Multi-shaft
Applications
- Mid-merit to baseload
- Grid connected, utility scale
- Combined Heat and Power (CHP)
Advantages
- Highest efficiency entitlement
- Better part load efficiency
- Redundancy
- Phased construction flexibility
- Can accommodate large steam extractions
Disadvantages
- Higher CAPEX and higher $/kW compared to single shaft
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