J-Series gas turbines achieve quarter million operating hours

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS), a world leader in high temperature, advanced technology gas turbines, has announced that its installed base of J-Series gas turbines has achieved a major milestone, accumulating more than a quarter million actual operating hours. No other gas turbine in this size range has even a single hour of commercial operating experience.

The installed fleet of J-Series turbines, with a total capacity exceeding 10 GW has produced over 109 000 GW hours of electricity, which is greater than the total annual electricity consumption of the country of Belgium. The fleet leader has been in operation since 2011 and has surpassed 26 000 operating hours. A total of 45 J-Series gas turbines have been ordered globally, making it the best selling gas turbine in its size range.

MHPS teamed with the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, to develop the next generation gas turbine technology. After eight years in the making, the first M501J provided 60 Hz electricity to Japanese utility Kansai Electric in 2011. Since this date, the J-Series turbine has set a number of world records: 

• Firing temperature: The turbine inlet temperature, which has a direct bearing on the efficiency of the unit reached 1600°C (2914°F), a record setting milestone since commercial operation began in 2011 that still stands today.


• Fuel efficiency: The J-Series is the only gas turbine with substantial operating experience with a thermal efficiency approaching 62% at ISO conditions in combined cycle.


• Output: The J-Series is the only gas turbine with substantial operating experience that has an output exceeding 300 MW in 60 Hz and 450 MW in 50 Hz. In combined cycle operation, these units exceed 470 MW and 680 MW output respectively, making them the largest operating units in the world.


• Emissions: CO₂ emissions per unit of electricity are lower than any combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant in the world with substantial operating experience, and are 60% lower than the coal-fired power plants that J-Series power plants often replace.


• Cost of electricity: Because of its extreme fuel efficiency and economies of scale, the J-Series CCGT produces the lowest cost of electricity of any CCGT for a given natural gas price.


• Reliability: The installed fleet of 20 J-Series turbines has achieved a reliability record that has exceeded 99.2% during the past two years.

The current operating fleet of 20 J-Series turbines were commissioned either on schedule or in some cases early, representing a feat very few companies are capable of achieving today. In addition, and just as important, every one of these J-Series turbines met their contractual performance obligations.

Adapted from press release by Francesca Brindle

Read the article online at: https://www.hydrocarbonengineering.com/product-news/20062016/mitsubishi-j-series-gas-turbine-achieves-quarter-million-operating-hours-3545/