HA (H-class) Gas Turbine Technology and Application in Vietnam

Recently, the HA gas turbine of General Electric (GE) was recognized by the Guinness World Records for powering the world ‘s most efficient combined-cycle power plant. What will GE do to introduce this technology into Vietnam? The reporter of the Power Magazine had an interview with Mr. Pham Hong Son- Chief Executing Officer (CEO) of GE Vietnam.

Mr. Pham Hong Son

Reporter: At present, which countries have used the HA gas turbine of GE, Sir?

Mr. Pham Hong Son: As of today, there are 92 HA gas turbine units selected by GE’s clients that have been installed in many parts of the world such as USA, UK, Brazil, France, Russia, Germany, Turkey, Egypt, Argentina, etc. In Asian region, this technology has been selected by many countries, namely, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, Pakistan, etc.

Reporter: Does this technology match the conditions of Vietnam?

Mr. Pham Hong Son: Vietnam is on the roadmap of strongly deploying the competitive power market. Accordingly, there will be fierce competition on prices among power producers of Vietnam. Therefore, the use of HA gas turbine technology will help the power plants improve energy produced, reduce production costs, mitigate the environmental impacts and meet the increasing power demand in Vietnam.

Reporter: What are the advantages of applying HA technology into Vietnam?

Mr. Pham Hong Son: The renewable energy sources in Vietnam are proactively exploited, these energy sources are unstable due to unpredictable weather conditions. In addition, the gas fields of Vietnam are quite varied with a number of the gas fields of high production and high inert gas concentration. The gas fields are also unstable and from now to 2030, the gas reserves will decrease rapidly. Therefore, the best solution is to improve the efficiency of power production and enhance the efficiency in the operation, in accordance with the output volatility of the gas fields. The HA gas turbine has been proven in reality and is the solution to address all these issues.

Reporter: It is known that the cost of production from HA technology is quite high. How will GE solve this problem?

Mr. Pham Hong Son: GE selects HA technology solution to increase the efficiency in power production, reduce the required site area for the power plant and shorten plant construction duration, which reduces the power production costs.

According to the calculations of GE, with the same combined cycle power plant of 750 MW and 25 years of life in Vietnam, with the gas price 8-9 USD/MMBTU and the number of operating hours about 6,000 hours per year, increasing 1% of performance will reduce the cost of power production from USD 40 to 45 million. So, when the performance increases from 57-58% (with the plants using F technology currently) to more than 62% (when using HA technology), along with other costs, gas turbine power plant would save about USD 200-250 million costs of power production, which contributes to improving the production efficiency.

Reporter: Can you clarify the roadmap to introduce HA technology into Vietnam?

Mr. Pham Hong Son: In the last 2 to 3 years, many workshops and conferences on HA technology and possibility of application have been held with the participation of the companies and organizations operating in the power industry in Vietnam. Accordingly, we have developed the master plan from the idea, the original database to the technical solution, deployment time, using area, etc., and finally the economic efficiency of power production, the cost of the first year and for the whole life cycle of 25 years, calculation of the increase or decrease of electricity prices, then we will balance all the factors and select the most appropriate solution.

Besides encouraging customers to use HA technology in the new power plant, GE will also study the solutions to upgrade old plants by the specific technologies, being consistent with the conditions of each power plant.

Reporter: Thank you!