The Jones power station is a natural gas-fueled, steam-electric generating station with two 1970s-vintage operating units. The plant currently has a generating capacity of 486MW. Xcel Energy is adding the SGT6-5000F gas turbine to the Jones Station to improve the system generating capability in anticipation of future electric load growth. Commercial operation is anticipated to commence in June 2012.
Michael Suess, CEO of fossil power generation division at Siemens, said: “By adding this advanced gas turbine technology to the existing older units, the power plant’s potential efficiency and environmental performance improves significantly.”
Siemens claims that the SGT6-5000F gas turbine, with over 5.9 million fleet operating hours of experience, is built on proven technology and utilizes an evolutionary design philosophy. By enhancing designs and incorporating technology upgrades and improvements through an evolutionary process, the SGT6-5000F has achieved 98% reliability and 57.5% combined cycle efficiency.
