Grand River Dam Authority Completes First Fire of Revolutionary Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Turbine

Will Be 24th J-Series Gas Turbine to Enter Commercial Operation

CHOUTEAU, OK – (March 31, 2017) The Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) has successfully completed the first fire of its new 495 megawatt combined cycle power plant at the Grand River Energy Center in Oklahoma. The plant is equipped with a highly efficient and reliable Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) M501J turbine, marking the first time that a J-Series turbine has been operational in the Western Hemisphere, and the 24th unit globally. An additional 12 J-Series have been ordered in North America.

“The Grand River Dam Authority approached MHPS with an ambitious challenge. They wanted to build the most efficient combined cycle power plant in the United States,” said Paul Browning, MHPS Americas President and CEO. “We were excited to partner with GRDA because the MHPS J-Series is up to the task. MHPS is the leader in Advanced Class Gas Turbine technology and the J-Series sets the standard for efficiency and reliability that the rest of the industry is chasing.”

Following a ceremony on March 14 wishing safety and success for plant personnel, the first fire was completed on the first attempt. Full speed no load tests were conducted the same day and the unit was synchronized to the grid and produced its first electricity for GRDA and MISO Power Pool customers two days later. All steam blows for the plant were completed ahead of schedule

“GRDA is very pleased with these milestone accomplishments and appreciates that MHPS Americas is fully meeting its commitments to this project,” said Charles Barney, GRDA’s Assistant General Manager for the project.

The MHPS turbine installed at Grand River Energy Center is the first J-Series to be built at the Savannah Machinery Works in Savannah, Georgia and was delivered ahead of schedule. It is paired in combined cycle with a steam turbine that was built at the MHPS Nagasaki Works in Japan. The unit also features a generator from Mitsubishi Electric Co. As part of the project GRDA also signed a 25-year long term service agreement with MHPS.

“We’re thrilled to partner with GRDA to help them achieve their goals as we shipped the first J-Series gas turbine from our Georgia manufacturing facility and brought the first J-Series turbine online in the U.S.,” Browning said. “We deliver our proven products on time, they work right the first time, they meet performance guarantees, and they are highly reliable. This is what distinguishes us in the industry.”

GRDA broke ground on Grand River Energy Center Unit 3 in January 2015. The environmentally friendly natural gas facility will replace an older coal-fired generator on the same site and will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by over 60%. The new power plant is on schedule to be fully operational this summer.

While the MHPS J-Series turbine was undergoing first fire in Oklahoma, two new M501J 60Hz turbines began commercial operations at separate power plants in South Korea, further expanding the MHPS global fleet of Advanced Class Gas Turbines (ACGT). When the Grand River Energy Center unit goes commercial it will become the 24th MHPS J-Series turbine to become operational. MHPS recently achieved a major milestone by registering 368,000 Actual Operating Hours (AOH) of service for its J-Series units at power plants around the world. The MHPS J-Series was commercialized in 2013. There are now 23 in commercial operation worldwide. Another 25 are being manufactured or have been delivered to power plants under construction. In total, 95 J-Series have been technically selected by utilities, municipal systems and independent power producers. Before J-Series turbines were marketed to customers they underwent lengthy verification testing at T-Point, a heavily instrumented commercially dispatched power plant at the MHPS Takasago Works in Japan.