The first of three Siemens' H-Class gas turbines has been successfully started at Florida Power & Light Company's (FPL) Cape Canaveral Next Generation Clean Energy Center in Port St. John, Fla., USA, near NASA's Kennedy Space Center. This successful start was enabled by the Siemens full-power output testing program designed to put the turbine through many operating regimes.

FPL, a subsidiary of U.S.-based NextEra Energy, Inc., serves the third most customers of any American electric utility, with approximately 4.6 million accounts, and is known for its reliable service, clean emissions profile and comparatively low rates. When FPL's state-of-the-art Cape Canaveral Clean Energy Center enters operation in 2013, it will use Siemens' highly efficient and flexible gas turbines to generate power with 33 percent less fuel per megawatt-hour than the site's previous plant. Because of this fuel efficiency, FPL expects that the new plant will more than pay for itself with fuel savings for customers estimated at more than $1 billion over its 30-year operational life.

Three more units of the model SGT6-8000H gas turbine will also be installed at a similar new plant under construction in Riviera Beach, Fla., USA. That project, FPL's Riviera Beach Next Generation Clean Energy Center, is scheduled to enter operation in 2014.

The SGT6-8000H is the scaled 60-Hz version of Siemens' successful SGT5-8000H gas turbine, which made power plant history in May 2011. Installed in a combined-cycle power plant configuration at Irsching Power Station in Bavaria, Germany, the SGT5-8000H achieved world-record efficiency of 60.75 percent. The SGT6-8000H is designed to 274 MW output of electric power, and is likewise capable of reaching efficiencies topping 60 percent in combined-cycle operation, which FPL's Cape Canaveral and Riviera Beach plants will employ.

“Clean and efficient power generation is one of the most important milestones on the road to a new, more sustainable age of electricity. The H-Class is a landmark in engineering and energy efficiency. Since its initial startup at the Irsching Power Station in Germany, this new machine has run extremely successfully for more than 18,000 operating hours. The 60-Hz version will contribute significantly to clean power generation in Florida and serve as yet another example of FPL's leadership among U.S. utilities,” said Roland Fischer, CEO of the Fossil Power Generation Division of Siemens Energy.

“By significantly reducing the amount of fuel we need to burn to generate electricity, Siemens' fuel-efficient turbine technology will help us continue to provide our customers with reliable, clean power at the lowest typical electric bills in the state,” said Mark Lemasney, plant general manager of FPL's Cape Canaveral Next Generation Clean Energy Center. “The successful test-fire is an exciting milestone for this important investment, and we look forward to continuing to work with Siemens as we prepare the plant to enter operation next year.”

Contact

Ms. Gerda Gottschick
Energy Sector
Tel: +49 (9131) 18-85753
gerda.gottschick​@siemens.com