The Solar Centaur 50 is a modular low-capacity gas turbine unit developed in 1985. In 1969, when Solar Turbines started modernization of the Solar Centaur 40 GTU , design solutions were developed that are still widely applied on the Centaur 50 model.
Thanks to the experience gained during the operation of Centaur 40, the developers were able to achieve a significant increase in the electric power generated – up to 4.6 MW. In addition, a large number of solutions and technologies developed for the higher capacity Mars series have been applied.
The Solar Centaur 50 has a SoLoNOx type combustion chamber. In operation it is possible to use 2 types of fuel: liquid and natural gas. As a result of the combustion process at lower temperatures, the level of harmful nitrogen oxides in the incoming gases does not increase by 25 parts per million. The temperature at the turbine outlet is 510°C.
The Centaur series units as well as the Taurus 60 , connected to the mechanical drive require its replacement due to the universal frames. Thus, the developers have significantly reduced the time and cost of this operation.
Solar Centaur 50 GTU has high reliability. The designated resource is 200,000 hours, which is more than 22 years. The units of this model have multimillion total operating time, which is increasing every day.
Main technical characteristics of the Solar Centaur 50 model
- Rated power: 4.61 MW;
- EFFICIENCY: 29.3%;
- Voltage: 10.5 kV;
- Current frequency: 50 Hz;
- NO x emission : ≤25 ppm;
- Mass-dimensional characteristics:
length 8.75 m;
width 2.44 m;
height 2.59 m;
weight 35 tons.
The main area of application is electricity and heat generation.