GE Expands Gas Turbine Test Facility

GE GE announced today that it is further expanding the capabilities of its advanced gas turbine test facility. Located in GE's Greenville, S.C., gas turbine manufacturing plant, the test facility will offer the capability for full-scale validation of its next generation gas turbines, heavy-duty compressors and gas turbine systems. The tests will be performed at full capacity and beyond and under “real-world” power plant conditions. The expanded capabilities will bring GE's investment in the facility to approximately $170 million. Such testing of a new gas turbine prior to shipment should enhance customer enthusiasm about new technology advancements and increase the insurability of new products. It also reduces construction and commissioning cycle times at new power plant sites because the need for field-testing is greatly decreased. The facility will provide a controlled environment with additional instrumentation, enabling GE to acquire more data during validation testing as opposed to a traditional field validation approach. GE will be able to acquire data much earlier in the validation process, thus accelerating the maturation of new product designs. The richer, unit specific data and earlier availability can enable design enhancements prior to gas turbine shipment.