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28.10.2009 
A new gas turbine from Siemens, the largest ever built, has successfully completed
testing at the E.ON power plant in Irsching, near Ingolstadt in Bavaria. In the process,
it has posted a new record, running for more than 1,200 hours at full load. It also
significantly exceeded its original rated output of 340 megawatts. And analysis of
measurement data showed that the rated output can be increased to 370 megawatts.
The next phase of the project involves connecting the gas turbine to a steam turbine.
Once it is operating in combined-cycle mode, output will rise to over 570 megawatts,
thus providing electricity for around 3.2 million people. The efficiency of the
combined-cycle plant is projected at over 60 percent, two percentage points above
the figure for what is currently the world’s most efficient combined-cycle plant,
also from Siemens.
Although this might seem minimal, an increase of two percentage points in efficiency
has a substantial impact on the level of carbon dioxide emissions, reducing CO2 output
by 43,000 metric tons per year. This is equivalent to the CO2 that 23,000 medium-sized
automobiles produce in a year when driven 20,000 kilometers. Compared with the average
level of CO2 emissions produced during power generation, the savings in Irsching would
be even more impressive: approximately 700,000 metric tons per year.
The gas turbine weighs 440 metric tons. Just one of its roughly 1,000 turbine blades
generates ten times as much power as a Porsche 911. A ceramic coating as insulation
and other adhesive coatings make the blades on the front rings impervious to combustion
temperatures of up to 1,500 degrees Celsius. These special coatings give the turbine
a total service life of 25,000 hours. Steel makes up 95 percent of the gas turbine.
Some individual parts can weigh several tons, while others are tiny. In all,
it comprises 7,000 components, fitted together with a watchmaker’s precision.
The turbine features numerous innovations, including a fully redesigned housing
for the combustion chamber. This summer the turbine was recognized with the special
award for “Climate Protection with Steel” at the German Steel Innovation Awards.
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