UT will obtain the first General Electric Energy turbine, according to an announcement from the company Wednesday. The turbine will provide the University with power to "maintain energy independence" and efficiency.
The machine measures 10 feet long, 20 feet wide and 40 feet high and is expected to provide energy for UT through 2030, said Albert Shuman, associate director of electrical distribution at UT. There are two gas and four steam turbines at UT's power plant that date from the 1940s to 2000.
The LM2500+G4 aeroderivative gas turbine, which produces 32 megawatts of power, will replace a vintage 13-MW turbine from 1965. The updated model operates on natural gas and uses water injection to maintain acceptable levels of nitrous oxide emissions to protect the environment.
"It's going to save us a significant amount of money, and it will pay for itself," said Kevin Kuretich, associate director of the power plant.
The demolition of the old turbine is in progress, and the power plant expects to receive the new 60-hertz turbine in December. GE Energy, a division of General Electric Co., is still constructing the new model. The 18-month project will be completed in August 2009.
The UT System Board of Regents set aside $13.1 million, including bonds, to purchase the new turbine, Schuman said.
"The aeroderivative gas turbine is like a jet engine," Kuretich said. "You burn gas, and it creates electricity. The hot exhaust gas [given] off of it, we capture to make steam and to make more electricity to send to campus for heating."
UT's 84-MW power plant provides electricity, steam, compressed air and purified water to the campus.
Ehud Ronn, professor of energy studies in the McCombs School of Business, stressed the importance of energy efficiency and the amount of natural gas used by the turbine.
"The point is that when we use natural gas to produce power, we will be doing it more efficiently with lower heat loss than when we were using the older gas turbine," Ronn said.
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