MHPS Ships Cutting-Edge JAC Gas Turbine For Power Plant Project In Thailand

Equipment to be used in Super Large-Scale 5,300 MW Integrated Thermal Power Plant

• Shipment delivered from MHPS Takasago Works on December 5
• J-Series reaches cumulative 900,000 hours of operation, leading the industry in large-scale gas turbines

Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd. (MHPS) completed a shipment of JAC (J-Series Air Cooled) gas turbines, the latest model in its mainstay J-Series of gas turbines on December 5. The shipment was made from MHPS' Takasago Works in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, for a construction project to build two natural gas-fired power stations on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand, by a joint venture between Gulf Energy Development Public Company Limited, one of Thailand's largest independent power producers (IPP), and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. This is the first shipment of eight units ordered in February 2018 that will comprise the gas turbine combined cycle (GTCC) power plants with a combined total output of 5,300 megawatts (MW).

The JAC gas turbine shipped for this project is for a power plant in Chonburi Province, one of two 2,650MW power plants being built in Chonburi and Rayong provinces, approximately 130 kilometers southeast of Bangkok. Commercial operation is scheduled to start in 2021. After startup, the plants will use natural gas as their main fuel source, with the electric power generated to be sold to the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT). The project will support the steady economic development in Thailand with a highly efficient source of clean energy.

The JAC gas turbines achieve greater efficiency by raising the turbine inlet temperature, while improving operability by shortening the start-up time with the latest air cooling system. The volume of CO2 emissions is reduced, and with the combined cycle for steam turbine generation utilizing waste heat, the system provides generating capacity of 650-818MW (50Hz).(note2) MHPS has a combined cycle generation testing facility at its Takasago Works, and has already demonstrated 99.5% reliability with over more than 11,600 hours of continuous commercial operation.

Demonstrated operation for MHPS' entire J-Series began in 2011, and has reached a cumulative total of 900,000 hours. This leads the industry in gas turbines of similar output, confirming reliability through testing over a long period. With the J-Series as its mainstay model, MHPS is dominating in sales activities around the world.

MHPS, to achieve a sustainable society, will continue development of decarbonization technologies to move from reduced carbon generation with high-efficiency GTCC to hydrogen gas turbines. In hydrogen gas turbine development, MHPS has already established technologies for a large-scale hydrogen gas turbine combustor with a 30% hydrogen-70% natural gas fuel mix, and is involved in a project to develop a 440MW 100% hydrogen-fired gas turbine, scheduled to begin operations in the Netherlands in 2025. Going forward, through environmentally responsible power generation technologies, MHPS will contribute to the stable supply of the electric power essential for economic development throughout the world, as well as promote the reduction and elimination of carbon in energy, and support the conservation of the global environment.