Siemens developing new class of gas turbines

Siemens is developing its new HL-class gas turbines, which will offer additional efficiency and flexibility,
the company said in a recent press release.

The company will validate the technologies of its HL-class at Duke Energy’s Lincoln County site in North Carolina.

Siemens’ HL-class consists of three engines. The class includes two SGT-9000HL air-cooled gas turbines. The 50-Hertz version provides 545 megawatts (MW), and the 60-Hertz version provides 374 MW. The SGT5-8000HL provides 453 MW in simple-cycle operation.

All three engines reach more than 63 percent combined cycle efficiency. The company has a mid-term goal
of 65 percent efficiency.

The turbines are designed for use with Siemens’ MindSphere, the Siemens cloud-based operating system for the Internet of Things (IoT).

“Worldwide we see renewables are growing rapidly, but gas-fired power plants will still play a vital role in the energy mix for the next decades,” Willi Meixner, CEO of the Siemens Power and Gas Division, said. “With the growing share of fluctuation power from renewables, flexibility will be a key feature of gas turbines. Our HL-class offers a simple-cycle ramp-up of 85 MW per minute. Therefore, highly efficient and flexible gas turbines like our HL-class are the perfect fit to energy systems with a rapidly increasing share of fluctuating renewables.”