Alstom announced the launch of its upgraded GT24 gas turbine and the corresponding KA24 combined cycle power plant offering for North America, parts of Latin America, Asia and the Middle East (60Hz market). This important step closely follows the launch in June, of its upgraded GT26 gas turbine and the corresponding combined cycle power plant KA26 for the 50 Hz electricity market.

The upgraded GT24 gas turbine and other associated key power plant components will be manufactured in Alstom’s factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in the USA, a state-of-the-art production facility that was inaugurated last year. It will employ up to 350 people, building and retrofitting major equipment for the fossil fuel and nuclear power generation market.

The flexible KA24 combined cycle power plant based on the next generation GT24 (the sister machine of the next generation GT26) in a 2 on 1 (1) configuration, can start up in less than 30 minutes. A novel feature is the capability to provide more than 450 MW of power in 10 minutes to make up for the fluctuations in production inherent in some renewable energy sources (wind power, for example). This combined-cycle power plant is capable of delivering over 700 MW of electric power, enough electricity for approximately 500,000 Americans. A gross electrical efficiency of over 60% will be achievable. The higher efficiency results in fuel savings of approximately 250,000 tons annually(2), thus reducing over 650,000 tons of CO2 emissions. This is equivalent to eliminating the annual emissions of more than 100,000 US passenger cars.

Natural gas will play an important role in the power generation mix in the USA both as a primary fuel and as back-up generation for renewables. States like Texas and California have very high renewable power capacity installed and this is projected to further increase substantially, necessitating flexible generation sources.

The upgraded GT26 gas turbine in a KA26 combined cycle features an efficiency of over 61%, avoiding more than 350,000 tonnes of CO2 annually(3) , and increased operational flexibility: more than 350 MW can be delivered to the grid in less than 15 minutes to enable integration of intermittent renewable sources of energy. The KA26, in a 1 on 1 configuration (4), is capable of producing more than 500 MW of power.