ABSTRACT
Natural gas-fired combustion turbines are the most widely adopted prime movers for new power generation worldwide, based on the aggregated power rating; in the year 2000, over 4000 units were sold or ordered. The benefits of gas turbines in power generation are fivefold: (1) comparatively low installation cost per MW output, (2) increasing availability of natural gas for low fixed-price contracts, (3) explosion of demand for peaking capacity in a deregulated energy marketplace combined with (4) the higher electrical efficiencies of aeroderivative turbines, and (5) the ability to site and install units from 1.7 to 40 MW (and larger) in weeks to months, not years.
