Aeros in the Americas: From Achieving Innovation to Helping the World through Crisis

“The future is happening now.”

At times, this seems to be a grandiose statement – one that is not truly tangible. Still, I spend a lot of time planning for the future – both at the office and at home.

About a month ago, we sent our twin girls off to seventh grade, and our younger girls off to second, and first grade. While cliché, it really does feel as though our twins were just newborns. In five short years, we’ll be visiting many college campuses, hoping to find the right fit for each of their unique personalities.?And while this may seem far off into the future at times, recently my daughters and I have been spending a lot of time talking about climate change and how it will impact their children’s future.?Truth be told we may have one, if not more, meteorologists in the family as they are fascinated by weather events.?Now more than ever they seem to be very curious about what my role at GE Gas Power is and what role we are playing to prevent climate change.

We are doing our best now to prepare them for what will come.

At GE Gas Power, many of our conversations center on a decade of action to drive decarbonization across the power sector in response to the urgent global crisis of our time: climate change. An alarming trend of climate-related events have renewed the focus of government officials, industry leaders, our customers, and competitors on this matter.

We are designing the future of energy to prepare the world for what will come.

In the Americas region, many of our customers are seeing our aeroderivative gas turbine technology as a key ingredient in their preparations. Aeroderivatives are smaller gas turbines—picture an airplane jet engine but on the ground—which offer highly mobile, flexible, and reliable power which can be deployed quickly and safely. A suite of aeroderivative turbines that is robust can produce an output range of 34-113 megawatts (MW) and can perform in both single or combined cycle power plant operations.

For example, Colorado Springs Utilities recently accepted their final shipment of coal to power the Martin Drake Power Plant as they activate a decarbonization strategy that meets Colorado’s goals to reduce statewide greenhouse gas emissions. This relies on six of GE’s LM2500Xpress* aeroderivative , which Colorado Springs Utilities will deploy to ensure reliable, flexible power to support their grid as they bring more renewables onto their system. This design in action sets their course of reducing carbon emissions from their electricity service by at least 80% by 2030.?

Together with Black Hills Energy in Wyoming, we are embarking on a feasibility study focused on hydrogen blending for their dual LM6000 aeroderivative combined cycle Cheyenne Prairie Generating Station, with funding from the Wyoming Energy Authority. The project will consider natural gas-fed blue hydrogen as well as green hydrogen fed with renewable energy and water for future use to power the station while reducing carbon emissions. With many pilot projects underway focused on hydrogen as a fuel, we fully anticipate our gas turbines to be 100% hydrogen-capable by the end of this decade.

And the latest deal – four TM2500 aeroderivative gas turbines for the California Department of Water Resources – will provide stability as the State navigates the recent wildfires and drought conditions and anticipated power supply shortage as their hydropower source runs dry during peak demand season.?GE’s TM2500 will provide up to 120 megawatts (MW) of power in total the units are able to start and ramp up quickly in just minutes and will supplement renewable generation to enhance the reliability and sustainability of California’s electricity system.

Still, as much as we can prepare for the future, it is inevitable that unexpected events can create turmoil. Particularly in the U.S., the unusual climate challenges this year – the severe hurricane season, the wildfires in California, and the “Big Freeze” in Texas – have influenced the way we look at energy demand, availability, and reliability. These are three key components of our aeroderivative gas turbines that have helped thousands rebuild for decades following natural disasters or grid failures.

Notably, this month also marked the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center. I was just four months into my career at GE when this even occurred and I can recall beginning my day at the Kendall Facility in Minooka, IL that was still under construction. I had only been at the plant for about an hour when the first tower was hit and remember watching the devastation that occurred afterwards.?We had no idea what to expect and at that moment there was a general concern that power plants could also be targets and we demobilized the thousands of workers we had on site that day.?What was known then as our Power Systems business, the teams moved 80 of our mobile generators to Lower Manhattan within 48 hours of the attack, providing power to the “City that Never Sleeps,” at one of the darkest times in our country’s history. We didn’t just deliver power, but we delivered the expertise, the people, and the spirit that we all needed then to rebuild.?That’s was one of my earliest recollections of being so proud of the company I had just joined.

So, I realize this now: every new day is the future we planned for yesterday. Incremental progress each day brings us one step closer to the innovations that in 20 years from now, will have altered the trajectory of climate change leaving behind a world in which everyone – including the 800MM today who do not have access to power – can rely on cleaner, more sustainable energy.

The future truly is happening now.