pwr_april-2024 - 20

GAS POWER
content above 50% (by volume) and, in
one case, with fuels that contain up to
94% (by volume) hydrogen. However,
the company said for future tests using
higher hydrogen blends, sites may need
to upgrade SCR systems and/or water
injection systems to allow for higher
water flows in order to maintain stack
emissions similar to those obtained
when firing on natural gas.
4. The New York Power Authority (NYPA) and a team of collaborators, which included GE Vernova
and others, conducted successful fuel blending tests ranging from 5% to 44% (by volume)
hydrogen at the Brentwood Power Station on Long Island in New York. NYPA said this cuttingedge
research provides critical insights into the potential for blending clean hydrogen and natural
gas. Courtesy: NYPA
IPP's Southern Transmission System
linking IPP to Southern California; and
the development of hydrogen production
and long-term storage capabilities.
Once finished, IPP will use renewable
energy-powered electrolysis to produce
hydrogen, storing it in underground salt
caverns for use as fuel in the gas turbines.
The units will initially run on a
blend of 30% green hydrogen and 70%
natural gas, incrementally expanding to
100% green hydrogen by 2045.
Yet, while the desire for hydrogenburning
capability may be universal,
Thomas said there is no one-size-fits-all
solution. He suggested decarbonization
plans in Texas, New England, the Southeast,
and the Western U.S. are all very
diverse. " Really, it's so regional. It's so
nuanced. Every location has different
needs, " he said.
With the need growing, Mitsubishi
Power has further hydrogen validations
planned in the not-too-distant future.
For example, the company said it will
use an H-25 gas turbine (40-MW class)
that had been previously installed for
compressor driving at the combustion
test facility in Takasago for 100% hydrogen
firing validation later this year.
GE Vernova Also Makes Progress
In 2022, GE Vernova proved the ability
to maintain stack emissions compliance
for NOx, CO, and ammonia limits at
steady state operating conditions with
hydrogen fuel blending levels of up to
44% by volume. The work was done in
collaboration with the New York Power
Authority (NYPA), EPRI, Sargent & Lundy,
Fresh Meadow Power, and Airgas,
an Air Liquide company. The project,
completed at NYPA's Brentwood Power
20
Station on Long Island in Suffolk County,
New York, won a POWER Top Plant
Award in 2023.
The Brentwood site (Figure 4) has a
GE LM6000 PC gas turbine, which was
commissioned in 2001 and utilizes a single
annular combustor (SAC) combustion
system. For more than 20 years,
GE has made incremental reliability
and performance improvements to the
LM6000, and the company continues
to sell this engine configuration for new
unit installations today. All test results
from the NYPA demonstration are also
applicable to new LM6000 gas turbines
with similar combustion configurations,
GE Vernova said.
The fuel blending ranged from 5% to
44% (by volume) hydrogen. The blend
range was based on a recommendation
by GE Vernova and was chosen based on
several factors, including the capability
of the engine at the site, the amount of
hydrogen available, and site conditions.
With increased hydrogen blends, gas
turbine NOx emissions for diffusion-style
combustors, such as those at the Brentwood
site, may be higher compared to
natural gas because hydrogen's adiabatic
flame temperature is higher. The NOx
emissions limit at the Brentwood site is
2.5 parts per million (ppm) at the stack.
During the testing, the team was able to
maintain emissions within current permit
levels thanks to the LM6000's SAC
water-injected combustor and selective
catalytic reduction (SCR) system.
GE Vernova said it felt comfortable
operating the LM6000 on hydrogen
blends based on the extensive fleet
experience of its current portfolio of
aeroderivative and heavy-duty gas turbines
operating on fuels with hydrogen
www.powermag.com
Concurrent Advances Needed
In Goldmeer's presentation, he pointed
out an interesting development taking
place in the land down under. " If you
haven't paid attention
to what's happened
in Australia with coal coming offline
and massive amounts of solar, they
have massive needs for peaking, " he
said. Yet, the government is committed
to reducing emissions, and some combustion
turbine owners are turning to hydrogen
as a result.
Goldmeer referenced a 200-plusMW
simple cycle F-class peaker plant
in Australia that has committed to burning
1% to 5% hydrogen by next year.
" What's crazy is at 5% hydrogen for
the number of hours they'll run, that's
roughly 200,000 kilograms of hydrogen
a year. That's more hydrogen on an annual
basis than Australia makes today
for clean hydrogen, " he said. Building
the infrastructure and supply chain to
support the movement toward clean
hydrogen won't be easy. " This is not
the chicken or the egg, this is the
chicken and the egg simultaneously, "
exclaimed Goldmeer.
" Australia is just such a pivotal market
because the social license to developing
new power plants really requires a pathway
to decarbonization. And, in many
cases, that means being able to prove
pathways to decarbonize with hydrogen, "
Goldmeer explained.
As another example in Australia,
Goldmeer mentioned a plant under development
that will have 12 aeroderivative
units. The combustion turbines are
currently capable of operating on 35%
hydrogen. " The ability to run on higher
levels of hydrogen will not be limited by
the gas turbines, because we pledge to
do upgrades over time. It's the supply
chain. How do you produce that much
clean hydrogen and what's the cost
point and how do you get it there? " he
asked. These are all important questions
that must be answered, perhaps sooner,
rather than later. ■
-Aaron Larson is POWER's
executive editor.
POWER | April 2024

http://www.powermag.com

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