Power Engineering - First GE 9E GT shipped under Chinese technology transfer deal

14 July 2006 - The first GE Frame 9E gas turbine assembled in China under a technology transfer agreement with Nanjing Turbine & Electric Machinery (Group) Co., Ltd. was shipped this week from NTC's manufacturing facility in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province.

Rated at 126 MW, the gas turbine is the first of four GE 9E technology machines being supplied for China's Gas Turbine Power Plants Construction Project, a centerpiece of the country's efforts to meet its growing power demand.

The shipment of the first 9E gas turbine was marked by a ceremony at the NTC facility. The gas turbine will be shipped to the Ge'ermu Combined-Cycle Power Plant in Ge'ermu City, Qinghai Province, where it will be part of a combined-cycle system generating nearly 200 megawatts.

The technology transfer agreement on Frame 9E gas turbine manufacturing was signed between NTC and GE in June of 2004, and the two parties formed a consortium to bid 9E gas turbine projects with success. The Ge'ermu contract took effect on December 7, 2005.

Assembly of the first Frame 9E gas turbine started in February of 2006. The fully assembled unit was successfully first-fired on June 18 and completed full-speed testing on NTC's new 9E test stand in Nanjing June 22.

The GE-NTC team focused on testing, tabulation and simulation experiments to promote quality and to reduce time required for producing the complete machine. Integration and machining of the casings for the first 9E unit were completed in June along with rotor alignment. Installation of cross-flame tubes of combustion chamber was also finished in June.

"The successful assembly and delivery of the first 9E gas turbine in such a short cycle time truly represents the partnership we have been building over more than 20 years with NTC, our earliest partner for gas turbine manufacturing in China," said Jack Wen, President of GE Energy China Region. "It demonstrates our long-term commitment and our local capabilities to provide product and technology that will produce the reliable power needed to support China's continuing growth and progress."

Shen Qun, General Manager of NTC, said: "Heavy duty gas turbines are included in the key technical integrated equipment being developed for China's 'Eleventh Five-Year Plan' period. Completion and delivery of the first GE 9E gas turbine with 31.32% localization rate symbolizes a new level of cooperation between NTC and GE. It has enabled us to lay a good foundation for healthy development of China's gas turbine industry at a faster rate."

The Frame 9E is a workhorse of GE's worldwide fleet of 50-hertz gas turbines. GE's E-class fleet includes 382 units in operation worldwide and has compiled more than 18 million hours of commercial operation.

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