GE Gas Power will supply three 9HA.01 gas turbines for the Guangming combined cycle power plant in China.

The plant is expected to deliver up to 2 GW of electricity to the most populous province in the country, with a population of approximately 126 million. Plans are for the first fleet of plant the plant to be operational by end of 2023, in time to support the retirement of the Guangdong Shajiao coal-fired power complex targeted in 2025.

China is actively working to promote its energy transition including transitioning from coal-based power generation to gas-fired technologies. Over the past decades, coal-fueled power has fallen from approximately 72.4% in 2005 to 56.8% in 2020 of China’s energy consumption.

For this project, Harbin Electric will provide steam turbines and generators. The Joint Venture called General Harbin Electric Gas Turbine (Qinhuangdao) Co., Ltd (“Joint Venture”) was formed in 2019 between GE and Harbin Electric as a joint effort to focus on heavy duty gas turbine localization, aiming to deliver efficient and reliable support for China natural gas power plants.

GE announced three GE 9HA.01 gas turbines will power Shenzhen Energy Group’s Guangming power plant in China. (Image: GE Power)

“Gas can play a significant role in China’s energy future due to its sustainability, flexibility, low capital costs, ability to integrate with carbon capture systems, and rapid deployment capabilities,” said Ma Jun, Utility Sales general manager of GE Gas Power in China. “Natural gas-fired generators have the lowest CO2 emissions of all fossil power generation fuels—and are ideal for countries including China where the need to transition from coal at scale while retaining reliability of supply is paramount. We are excited to work together with Harbin Electric in support of increasing natural gas-fired power generation in China.”

To further advance on the path towards decarbonization utilizing gas power, GE 9HA.01/9HA.02/7HA.03 gas turbines have the capability to burn up to 50% by volume of hydrogen when blended with natural gas.

Earlier, GE and Harbin announced orders including three 9HA.02 gas turbines for the Guangdong Energy Group Co., Ltd’s Dongguan Ningzhou power plant, two 9HA.01 gas turbines for Guangdong Huizhou power plant expected to burn up to 10% by volume of hydrogen blended with natural gas upon start of operation. In addition, GE is providing the equipment to support the coal-to-gas transition of China Huadian Tianjin Junliangcheng Power Generation Co., Ltd.’s Junliangcheng power plant.