Uniper announces turbine upgrade at UK's Grain power station
Power Engineering International
Posted on: 6 June 2025
GE Vernova has announced that Uniper signed a service agreement to upgrade three GT26 gas turbine units powering Uniper’s Grain power station in Kent| UK.
GE Vernova has announced that Uniper signed a service agreement to upgrade three GT26 gas turbine units powering Uniper’s Grain power station in Kent, UK.
This GT26 high efficiency upgrade is expected to increase efficiency by approximately 2% and the power output rom 15 up to 55MW per unit. It will also support Uniper’s ambition to decarbonise its fleet by reducing carbon intensity at the plant.
“Increasing efficiency and the ability to maintain high availability, while lowering operational, and maintenance costs, is crucial for the long-term success of Grain power station,” said Bill Cliff, Uniper power station manager Enfield, Grain and Taylors Lane.
“We worked with GE Vernova on the validation of GE Vernova’s GT26 HE upgrade at our Enfield power station, so we already had experience of this technology. Investment in our assets to reduce their carbon intensity, increase capacity and maintain reliability for security of supply is key for both Grain and Enfield power stations.”
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At Enfield, the modernisation project improved performance and extended the maintenance interval of the combined cycle gas turbine. GE Vernova’s testing on the GT26 HE technology indicated increases in plant output approximately 25MW per unit, a 1% increased efficiency in part load and a 1.8% increase in baseload efficiency. This worked out to $1 million fuel savings per unit per year, and maintenance intervals extended up to 32,000 hours.
Joseph Anis, president and CEO of GE Vernova's Gas Power business in Europe, Middle East, and Africa, commented: “For years, GE Vernova and Uniper have worked together to build and maintain power plants, using leading technologies and this upgrade marks another example of our successful cooperation.
“This upgrade is expected to revitalise Uniper’s Grain power plant and to increase its reliability and availability in the Great Britain generation landscape, supporting its long-term profitability and viability."
As of end of March 2025, the GT26 HE fleet has achieved more than 100,000 operating hours. There are currently eight units in operation with 15 units sold.
