Gas turbine upgrade boosts efficiency at ENGIE's Maxima plant

ENGIE-owned combined cycle power plant Maxima Unit 5 has entered service following a gas turbine upgrade with the MXL3 system completed by Ansaldo Energia.

According to the Italian power engineering company, Ansaldo Energia, gas turbine efficiency was improved by almost 3%, making it the first F-Class gas turbine in Central West Europe to reach more than 60% combined cycle efficiency, with a boost in power output of 37MW.

The upgrade has reduced CO2 emissions and the combustor is already set up to allow future co-firing of hydrogen up to 45% of volume flow enabling higher CO2 emission savings.

MXL3 requires limited replacement/upgrade of gas turbine parts and was smoothly implemented into the plant's water steam cycle with no changes to existing hardware. Furthermore, with the new upgrade, longer maintenance intervals are possible (approximately 40,000 equivalent operating hours).

MXL3 upgrade is compatible with the whole GT26 fleet and its flexible operation modes allow operators to switch online between “optimised performance” or “optimised maintenance cost” profiles.

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Cedric Osterrieth, managing director ENGIE Flexible Generation, Europe : “Thanks to the MXL3-upgrade, we will explore the future use of low-carbon hydrogen, as the technology allows co-firing of hydrogen up to 45% in the fuel mix.”

“Having reached this rewarding result in a very close cooperation is a great achievement for both companies” said Reto Furrer, Ansaldo Energia executive vice president service.

“We are pleased to have given ENGIE, a customer with whom we have a trusted, fruitful and long-standing collaboration, the tools to have a power plant that is ready to face the market challenges of the energy transition, guaranteeing a cleaner, more sustainable and flexible electricity production”.