As every first Saturday of each month, welcome to this month’s edition of the GasTurbineHub Newsletter!

In today’s newsletter:

📈 Aging Gas Turbine Fleets – Operators face critical decisions.
🏭 Gas Turbine New Installations – Latest updates on projects and deployments.
⚙️ Gas Turbine Technology Developments – Innovations driving efficiency and performance.
🔥 Hydrogen Gas Turbines – Advancements in hydrogen-powered solutions.
🌍 Carbon Capture and Sequestration Projects – Key progress in reducing emissions.
📅 2025 Events Calendar – Upcoming industry events and opportunities to connect.

Let’s jump right in!  

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Aging Gas Turbine Fleets: What Lies Ahead for Operators

In the quiet control rooms of gas-fired power plants across the world, a common question is beginning to echo louder: What do we do with these aging machines?

From the deserts of the Middle East to the forests of Northern Europe and the coasts of Asia-Pacific, operators are increasingly facing the reality that many gas turbines — once state-of-the-art — are now approaching, or have already surpassed, their intended design lives, and well over 100,000 to 200,000 run-hours, presenting a plant manager with an important decision – modernise the asset or make minimal maintenance investments, leading to eventual retirement.

The Aging Picture – What Do the Numbers Say?

Gas turbines, both Open Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGT) and Combined Cycle Gas Turbines (CCGT), have been the backbone of power generation for decades. However, as the data shows, the fleet globally is aging rapidly

In the first graph, you can clearly see the distribution of gas turbine installations worldwide, based on their commercial start year. The majority of units were commissioned between the late 1990s and mid-2010s, peaking around the early 2000s. Since then, the rate of new installations has decreased, and many existing units are now entering their third decade of operation. This means a significant portion of today’s operating fleet is 15–30 years old, and in some cases even older.

The second graph illustrates the age distribution by continent, showing the 25th, 50th (median), and 75th percentiles of gas turbine ages, alongside the average. This means, for instance, that half of Europe’s gas turbine fleet is older than 20 years, while in the Americas, the median age is even higher at 23 years. Asia and Oceania show younger fleets overall, but even there, aging trends are evident. Africa displays a slightly younger profile, but still with an average unit age above 15 years.

The Challenge Ahead: A Complex Decision

As turbines approach their planned end-of-life, operators must face a complex dilemma:

• Should they retire these assets and invest in new gas turbines with improved flexibility and efficiency?

• Or should they extend the life of existing assets, betting on their reliability and hoping for market conditions to stabilize?

This question has no easy answer. The energy landscape is changing rapidly:

• Sustainability policies are becoming stricter.

• Renewable energy is capturing a growing share of the generation mix.

• Gas turbines are increasingly operating in a flexible, backup role, reducing their annual running hours.

• New capacity faces challenges due to uncertain market conditions and evolving grid needs.

Aging fleets often present additional challenges such as worsening parts obsolescence, longer overhaul times, and increased forced outages. Operators are often forced into a delicate balancing act between the technical capability of the turbine, the economics of continued operation, and regulatory constraints.

Life Extension or Replacement? The Trade-off

The situation is further complicated by the fact that OEMs themselves are experiencing major bottlenecks. Delivery times for new gas turbines have expanded significantly, with some models facing lead times of more than 3 years from order placement to commissioning. At the same time, overhaul durations have escalated from the historical average of 120 days to often exceeding 300 days today, due to constrained manufacturing and service capacities.

In the current commercial environment, characterised by strong competition, fragmented supply chains, and growing geopolitical tensions, securing critical parts and major components is becoming increasingly difficult. This situation not only affects new unit delivery but also the feasibility of executing timely overhauls for existing fleets.

In this context, operators will need to consider life extension programs much earlier and more strategically. Without proper planning, there is a real risk of encountering long service delays, increased downtime, or even forced outages due to unavailable parts or repair capacity.

This growing uncertainty pushes many operators to consider lifetime extension as a way to bridge the gap. However, extending the life of aging gas turbines requires:

• Thorough condition assessments

• Potentially costly major overhauls

• Upgrades to meet emissions and performance regulations

Moreover, the challenge is not just technical but logistical. OEM capacity is increasingly dedicated to servicing the most modern fleets, leaving older turbines with limited support options. Lead times for major overhauls have doubled or tripled, and operators may find themselves competing for scarce resources.

What Operators Should Consider

Operators navigating these decisions should carefully:

• Assess the real condition of their assets.

• Evaluate lifetime extension programs versus new build options.

• Factor in the reduced running hours expected under renewable-dominated grids.

• Explore alternative technologies such as battery integration, hybrid systems, or highly flexible units.

Postponing this decision could lead to:

• Increased operational risk

• Unexpected failures

• Growing costs due to parts obsolescence or limited OEM capacity

Looking Ahead: With such a significant share of the world’s gas turbine fleet entering its senior years, operators are entering a decisive phase. Extending the life of existing units may be the most immediate and pragmatic solution for many, but it is not without risks. With lead times for new units surpassing three years, overhaul durations exceeding 300 days, and the supply chain becoming a critical bottleneck for both parts and major components, the margin for error is narrower than ever.

At the same time, the rise of renewables, evolving decarbonisation policies, and uncertain market dynamics complicate long-term investment strategies. Without timely and well-planned life extension programs, operators risk being caught unprepared in a market where the availability of both equipment and qualified service capacity is no longer guaranteed.

The coming years will not just shape the role of gas turbines — they will test the industry’s ability to adapt, plan ahead, and balance flexibility with resilience in a deeply transforming energy landscape.

Join the Conversation: Sign up for our newsletter to stay updated on developments in gas turbine technology and the energy sector.

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The Latest News in a Snapshot

Gas Turbine New Installations

• Mexico’s state-owned utility to add five natural gas plants

  “The 2025-2030 Generation Expansion Plan will include a total of 12 generation projects, with 5,840 MW of capacity.”
  Source: Power-Eng (06 March, 2025)

• Dominion Seeks Virginia Approval for 1-GW Gas-Fired Power Plant

  “Dominion Energy has asked Virginia officials to approve its request to build a new 1-GW natural gas-fired power plant”
  Source: Power Magazine (07 March, 2025)

• Siemens Energy secures USD 1.6 billion project to advance Saudi Arabia’s energy transition with new power plants

  “Siemens Energy will supply six SGT6-9000HL gas turbines, four SST6-5000 steam turbines, eight SGen6-3000W generators, two SGen6-2000P generators”
  Source: Siemens Energy (12 March, 2025)

• Baker Hughes Secures Order to Provide Reliable and Efficient Power to U.S. Data Centers

  “TURBINE-X Energy Contracts Baker Hughes to Power Data Centers with NovaLT Turbines”
  Source: Baker Hughes (13 March, 2025)

• Powered by GE Vernova’s H-Class equipment, 1.2 GW Pulau Indah power plant starts commercial operation in Malaysia

  “Pulau Indah power plant, powered by GE Vernova 9HA.01 combined cycle equipment, will benefit from GE Vernova’s maintenance services for the next 21 years”
  Source: GE Vernova (13 March, 2025)

• More Natural Gas-Fired Plants Planned to Support Ohio Data Centers

  “EdgeConneX, based in Herndon, Virginia, said the proposed PowerConneX New Albany Energy Center facility would have as much as 120 MW of generation capacity.”
  Source: Power Magazine (25 March, 2025)

• TVA‘s Grid Transformation Pairs Solar and Natural Gas to Phase Out Coal

  “The new facility will consist of a combined-cycle plant powered by GE Vernova LM600 PF+ gas turbines, 100 MW of onsite battery storage, and 4 MW of solar generation.”
  Source: Turbomachinery Magazine (26 March, 2025)

• Mitsubishi Power Secures Two Groundbreaking Gas Turbine Orders for Saudi Arabia’s Rumah-1 and Al-Nairyah-1 Projects

  “Mitsubishi Power to supply six M501JAC gas turbines to deliver a combined output of 3.6 GW”
  Source: Mitsubishi Power (28 March, 2025)

• GE Vernova’s Aeroderivative Turbines Expand Capacity at Missouri Generating Station

  “Springfield City Utilities (CU) ordered three GE Vernova LM6000VELOX aeroderivative gas turbine units for the 100-MW McCartney Generating Station in Springfield, MO”
  Source: Turbomachinery Magazine (28 March, 2025)

Gas Turbine Technology Developments

• GE Vernova completes acquisition of gas turbine combustion parts business from Woodward, Inc.
  Source: GE Vernova (03 March, 2025)

• GE Vernova’s H-Class gas turbine fleet completes 3 million operating hours

  “GE Vernova announced that its H-Class gas turbine technology has amassed more than 3 million commercial operating hours across 116 units globally”
  Source: Energy Connects (10 March, 2025)

• GE Vernova launches TM2500 DLE aeroderivative gas turbine, world’s first mobile power generation solution to operate without water

  “TM2500 DLE is also more sustainable: it produces lower nitric oxide (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and particulate matter (PM) emissions compared to the previous GE Vernova’s mobile solutions.”
  Source: GE Vernova (31 March, 2025)

Hydrogen Gas Turbines

• Siemens Energy (GTW): Introduced H₂–Natural Gas Mixing Skids to retrofit gas turbines for hydrogen co-firing​
  Source: Gas Turbine World (16 March, 2025)

Carbon Capture and Sequestration Projects

• Baker Hughes, Frontier Infrastructure Announce Partnership to Accelerate Development of Carbon Capture and Storage, Data Center Projects in the U.S.

  Source: Baker Hughes (03 March, 2025)

• What Comes Next for Carbon Capture in the Power Industry?

  “Policy upheavals have cast uncertainty over the future of carbon capture and storage in the power sector, though its momentum is widely expected to continue.”
  Source: Power Magazine (03 March, 2025)

• Green light for UK carbon capture projects – but will they deliver?

  “The UK’s first carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects have been given the go-ahead.”
  Source: Chemistry World (07 March, 2025)

• Northern Lights is expanding capacity through commercial agreement

  “The expansion of Northern Lights will increase the transport and storage capacity from 1.5 million to a minimum of 5 million tonnes of CO₂per year, enabling further reduction and removal of European industrial CO₂ emissions. The investment decision to expand capacity follows a commercial agreement with the Swedish energy provider, Stockholm Exergi, for cross-border transport and storage of up to 900,000 tonnes of biogenic CO₂ annually.”
  Source: Northern Lights Project (27 March, 2025)

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Gas Turbine Related Events Happening in 2025

V94.2 (SGT5-2000E AE94.2) Users Conference
Date: April 7-10, 2025
Location: Zagreb, Croatia (In-person)
Organizer: GTUsers
Website: GTUsers Conferences
Key Topics: User experiences, maintenance practices, technology advancements in V94.2 gas turbines.

European HRSG Forum (EHF) 11th International Conference
Date: May 15-17, 2025
Location: Prato, Italy (In-person)
Organizer: European HRSG Forum
Website: EHF
Key Topics: Heat recovery steam generators, combined cycle plants, maintenance strategies.

7F Users Group Conference and Vendor Fair
Date: May 19-23, 2025
Location: Birmingham, Alabama, USA (In-person)
Organizer: 7F Users Group
Website: 7F Users Group
Key Topics: User experiences, maintenance practices, technology advancements in 7F gas turbines.

MEGAWatt 2025
Date: May 20-21, 2025
Location: Bergamo, Italy (In-person)
Organizer: MEGAWatt Expo Organizing Committee
Website: MEGAWatt
Key Topics: Gas and Steam Turbines, Alternative Fuels, Digitalisation, Grid Integration, and Market Integration.

LM2500 User Group Meeting
Date: June 3-5, 2025
Location: To Be Confirmed (In-person)
Organizer: ETN Global
Website: ETN Global Events
Key Topics: User experiences, maintenance practices, technical updates for LM2500 turbines.

ASME Turbo Expo 2025
Date: June 16-20, 2025
Location: Memphis, Tennessee, USA (In-person)
Organizer: American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
Website: ASME Turbo Expo
Key Topics: Gas turbine technology, propulsion engineering, energy solutions.

Legacy Turbine Users Group Third Annual Conference
Date: June 16-19, 2025
Location: USA (In-person)
Organizer: Legacy Turbine Users Group
Website: Legacy Turbine Users Group
Key Topics: Frame 5, 6B, and 7EA gas turbines, maintenance, operations.

AOG (Alstom Owners Group) Users Conference
Date: July 14-17, 2025
Location: Niagara Falls, New York, USA (In-person)
Organizer: AOG Users Group
Website: AOG Users
Key Topics: GT8, GT11N, N1, N2, GT13, GT24, GT26.

HRSG Forum 2025 – Heat Recovery Steam Generator Users Conference
Date: July 21-24, 2025
Location: The Woodlands (Houston), Texas, USA (In-person)
Organizer: HRSG Forum
Website: powerusers.org
Key Topics: HRSG Tube Failures, Water Treatment, HRSG Preservation.

HA Users Group 2025 Annual Conference
Date: August 4-8, 2025
Location: Greenville, South Carolina, USA (In-person)
Organizer: HA Users Group
Website: powerusers.org
Key Topics: 7HA, 9HA.

Combined Cycle/Steam Turbine/Generator/Power Plant Controls User Groups and Low Carbon Peer Group Conference
Date: August 25-28, 2025
Location: Washington, D.C., USA (In-person)
Organizer: Steering Committees of each User Group
Website: powerusers.org