Combustion Turbines

The Department of Energy (DOE) has been actively funding research and development aimed at improving combustion turbine performance.

The DOE Advanced Turbine System (ATS) research and development program is a partnership among the DOE, state governments, gas turbine manufactures, universities, natural gas companies, national laboratories, and electric power producers. Together they are working on lower-cost, higher-efficiency gas turbines that have better environmental performance than existing machines.

The goal of the ATS program is to bring the high efficiencies of the larger turbines into the smaller, industrial sizes. The objective is to break the 60% barrier in net electrical efficiency (LHV, combined-cycle), reduce SOx, and NOx emissions, while achieving operating costs 10-20% lower than conventional power systems.

The DOE is continuing its funding of next generation turbine system development. As the ATS nears completion, meeting its goal of product commercialization in 2002, the next generation effort will begin. If successful, market entry could be acheived around 2008.