Siemens Energy has recently developed a new 60 MW steam turbine for geothermal power plants at the GEA Geothermal Energy Expo in San Diego.
Designed for geothermal applications, the new steam turbine combines the casing and turbine-generator package with the steam path technologies developed, tested and applied by TurboCare, the steam turbine service provider. The SST-400 GEO steam turbine can be deployed in geothermal power plants with different thermal fluids.
“Worldwide a pronounced increase in the demand for geothermal steam turbines is evident. As a steam turbine manufacturer we are optimally set up with this machine to be well positioned in the marketplace over the long term,” says Markus Tacke, CEO of the Industrial Power Business Unit of Siemens Energy.
According to a study performed by IHS Emerging Energy Research, installed geothermal power plants had a global generating capacity of more than 11 GW at the end of 2010. The same study shows that the installed capacity of geothermal power is estimated to grow almost three times to 31 GW by 2020.
