by Gas turbines have become one of the most important and commonly used equipment for power generation in conventional power plants as well as combined cycle power plants across the world. As per industry estimates, there are over 60,000 gas turbines operating in power plants globally. With increasing reliance on gas turbine based power generation worldwide, the need for effective maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services has also grown manifold in the past few decades. The gas turbine MRO industry has evolved tremendously over the years to cater to the specific requirements of power generating companies for smooth and reliable operations.
Importance of gas turbine MRO
Even the slightest machinery faults and component issues can lead to outages, de-ratings and reduced efficiency. Unplanned downtime affects plant load factors and capacity utilization in a major way. Therefore, timely and well planned predictive, preventive and corrective maintenance through gas turbine MRO services plays a critical role in maximizing asset availability and utilization for power producers. Regular condition monitoring, component inspections, overhauls and repairs through qualified MRO experts help power plants avoid unexpected breakdowns and ensure turbines perform as per design efficiency levels throughout their operational life.
Gas turbine MRO market dynamics
The global gas turbine MRO market has witnessed steady growth over the past decade and was valued at over USD 20 billion in revenues in 2021 according to research reports. Power generation is estimated to account for over 60% of total MRO spending on gas turbines worldwide. Major factors influencing MRO demand include growing fleet sizes, increasing utilization rates of gas turbine based power plants, ageing of installed assets, stricter emission norms, availability of advanced monitoring technologies and the policy support for sustainable power generation. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) like GE, Siemens and Mitsubishi dominate the MRO Market. However, third party independent service providers are steadily gaining market share. North America accounts for the largest market currently but emerging nations in Asia and Africa are showing most promise for future growth owing to upcoming capacity additions in these regions.
Key aspects of gas turbine MRO services
Gas turbine MRO covers a wide range of services from basic inspections to major overhauls and upgrades. Some of the vital ones are:
– Condition monitoring: Online equipment monitoring helps identify even minute performance deviations and scheduled preventive maintenance.
– Inspections and diagnostics: Regular borescope, ultrasonic, eddy current inspections check component health and material integrity.
– Repairs: Refurbishing and replacement of eroded/damages parts like blades, nozzle guide vanes, combustion liners etc. enhances performance.
– Overhauls and retrofits: Scheduled removal of turbine module to clean, inspect and replace parts improves life expectancy.
– Upgrades: Modifying controls, valves, sensors for higher efficiencies, emissions compliance and output.
– Outage support: Expert manpower assists plant personnel during unit breakdowns for quick commissioning.
– Asset management: Digitization and analytics boost reliability, predict failures through parameter monitoring.
– Training and certification: Enhances workforce skills and ensures safe, standards compliant operations.
Reliable MRO is crucial to extract maximum output from gas turbine based power plants over their rated lifetime of over 30-40 years.
With increasing global energy demands, gas turbines will continue dominating the growing power generation sector. Ensuring uninterrupted electricity supply through productive assets, affordable tariffs and lower emissions will be a major challenge. The integral role played by efficient, technology driven gas turbine MRO services offered by an experienced workforce assumes great significance in this pursuit of sustainability. Original equipment manufacturers as well as independent service providers are continuously enhancing monitoring, diagnostics and repair methodologies to reduce downtime and maximize plant load factors. The future of power industry hinges on innovative MRO strategies that can derive optimum value from gas turbine fleet assets over their long operational lives.
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1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
