Plowing New Ground
This article presents an overview of the gas turbine industry. The annual value of production provides the vital signs for the industry. Forecast International in Newtown, Connecticut, uses its computer models and extensive database to monitor value of production for both the aviation and the non-aviation gas turbine market. The largest segment in the industry is aviation—jet engines and turboprop engines for commercial and military manned aircraft—with $21.4 billion in production. While aviation is the largest market for gas turbines, the non-aviation segment is the broadest. General Electric’s new LMS100 gas turbine is one example firmly on the cutting edge. Introduced in 2005 and rated at 100 MW, the LMS100 is the first modern production electric power gas turbine to have an intercooler. The LMS100 is aimed at the mid-merit and daily cycling segments of the electrical market—the difficult-to-predict, must-be-ready-to-start electrical peak and intermediary power providers.