SHANGHAI (March 14, 2017)—China’s Harbin Electric Corporation (HE) has awarded GE a contract to provide GE’s largest and most efficient gas turbine, the 9HA, for the 650-megawatt (MW) Huadian Tianjin Junliangcheng VI gas combined-cycle power plant project.

Delivery of the gas turbine—the first HA to be installed in China—is scheduled for the third quarter of 2018, according to a statement from GE.

“GE has worked closely with HE for more than a decade, and today’s announcement represents a significant milestone in our journey to deliver the world’s most advanced gas turbine technology in China,” said Joe Mastrangelo, president and CEO, GE’s Gas Power Systems. “Bringing the HA to China is important for the acceleration of China’s power industry, enabling more affordable, reliable, accessible and sustainable power generation.”

Set to be one of the most efficient power plants in the country upon completion, Junliangcheng is expected to bring a combined-cycle efficiency of more than 62 percent and reduce SOx emissions by up to 1,194 tons, NOx emissions by up to 500 tons and CO2 emissions by more than 2 million tons per year, according to GE.

Junliangcheng is also able to provide a heat supply up to 14.5 million square meters to be available for the city center and the outer regions of Tianjin. The facility is being converted from a coal-fired power plant to a gas-fired power plant with GE technology, and will save coal consumption of over 1 million tons annually, GE said.