GE Vernova’s technology to help LG&E and KU further diversify sustainable energy portfolio

GE Vernova’s Gas Power business has secured an order for its 7HA.03 combined-cycle plant equipment from Louisville Gas and Electric Company and Kentucky Utilities Company, regulated utilities that are part of the PPL family of companies, to power a new natural gas combined-cycle generating unit (NGCC) at the utilities’ existing Mill Creek Generating Station in Louisville, Kentucky.

Last year, the Kentucky Public Service Commission approved LG&E and KU’s plans to retire two aging coal generation units and build a new NGCC at its Mill Creek Generating Station. The commission also approved solar energy projects, battery storage, and a suite of energy efficiency programmes, GE Vernova said.

“We’re proud to serve the communities in which our employees live and work at the lowest reasonable cost, and the addition of a new NGCC at our Mill Creek Generating Station – which has provided ‘round the clock’ energy to our customers for decades – is an important part of how we’re continuing to plan for Kentucky’s energy future in a responsible, affordable and reliable way,” said Lonnie Bellar, senior vice president, Engineering and Construction. “We’re also proud to partner with GE Vernova on bringing to life what will be the most advanced NGCC generating unit in our fleet.”

MC5 is expected to have an output of approximately 645-megawatts (MW) and will feature the most advanced GE Vernova 7HA.03 gas turbine, which will be fueled initially by natural gas, with the ability to utilize up to 50 percent hydrogen (by volume) as hydrogen becomes more available in the future.

GE Vernova will also provide a STF-D650 steam turbine along with a W86 generator, a Vogt Heat Recovery Steam Generator (HRSG) and its integrated Mark VIe control system for gas turbine performance management. NGCCs, like MC5, have the lowest carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and other emissions of all fossil-fuel powered generation.

“GE Vernova’s advanced HA gas turbines produce less than one-third of the carbon emissions of a similar coal-fired generating station, so constructing a NGCC works in harmony with LG&E and KU’s future carbon reduction plans by incorporating the potential of hydrogen-based fuels and carbon-capture technologies,” said Dave Ross, President of GE Vernova’s Gas Power in the Americas region. “We are honored to support LG&E and KU in this project, not only through bringing our advanced HA power generation equipment, but also by working to ensure its best operation through the deployment of controls software and remote monitoring abilities well into the future.”

The performance of the new 7HA.03 gas turbine includes a highly flexible ramp rate of 75MW/min as validated at GE Vernova’s Test Stand 7 in Greenville, South Carolina.

GE Vernova will also provide services to help increase operational efficiency, expected to generate key savings in maintenance costs due to less unplanned maintenance for the combustion turbines. Data collected from sensors throughout the facility will be monitored and analyzed 24/7 at GE Vernova’s Monitoring & Diagnostics (M&D) Center in Atlanta.

The plant will be built by TIC—The Industrial Company, a subsidiary of Kiewit, one of North America’s largest engineering and construction companies.