Mitsubishi Power to supply second gas turbine to Oklahoma power plant

Japan’s Mitsubishi Power has signed an agreement with Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA), Oklahoma’s largest public utility, to provide a second gas turbine to the Grand River Energy Center, the Japanese company said on October 4.

It will be the first M501JAC gas turbine to operate in the simple cycle in the US. Unit 4 replaces the last remaining coal-fired unit at the Grand River Energy Center. Mitsubishi Power said it represents a market shift towards using advanced-class gas turbines for peaking applications.

This is the second project the GRDA has awarded to Mitsubishi Power for its Grand River Energy Center in the last 10 years. The first-ever J-series advanced gas turbine to operate in the US is located at the Center’s Unit 3 project, a 500 MW combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power station that began operations in 2017.

The M501JAC enhanced air-cooled gas turbine for Unit 4 will replace the Energy Center’s Unit 2, a 492 MW coal-fired generator that came online in 1985. The Unit 4 gas turbine is also hydrogen-capable and can be adapted in the future to operate on a blend or 100% hydrogen.