General Electric Co. is holding its lead in the global market for gas-fired power turbines, according to published reports confirmed by the manufacturer. It logged six orders for its HA-class turbines during the first quarter of 2019, along with three others that are confirmed but not yet recorded. The result put GE on top of a increasingly competitive market segment.
Gas turbines are used by electric utilities and some industrial operations to generate electricity. Current models typically are designed to divert waste heat to power steam generators, in what is described as a “combined cycle” configuration.
The GE Power unit posted a profit of $80 million during Q1 2019, having been recently restructured to separate the turbines business from the renewable energy business.
While the sector is becoming more competitive, global demand for gas turbines has been contracting in recent years as utilities invest in renewable energy sources and power conservation technologies.
Also during the first quarter, Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems recorded five orders for gas turbines, and Siemens AG recorded orders for four.
Siemens recently announced it will spin off the Siemens Gas and Power Division as an independent company, a venture it projects as a “major player” in the energy sector with business volume of $33.6 billion and about 80,000 employees.
