China's first self-developed F-class heavy-duty gas turbine, which is used to generate electricity for power plants, was put into commercial operation on Wednesday in south China's Guangdong Province.

With a capacity of 50 megawatts, the turbine signifies China's breakthrough in the area, according to its developer, Dongfang Electric Co., LTD.

In the combined-cycle plant, which uses both gas and steam turbines to produce energy, the turbine can generate more than 70,000 megawatt-hours of electricity each hour, enough to power 7,000 households for a day.

Compared with a thermal power generator set of the same power, it can reduce carbon emissions by over 500,000 tonnes per year.

 Ai Song, the company's chief designer, said that they have cooperated with about 300 institutions, including universities, scientific research institutes and end users in the upper, middle and lower streams of the industrial chain, to carry out research.

Composed of more than 20,000 parts, it took the company 13 years to design and build the turbine. "We have acquired the capability to design and manufacture all components of the heavy-duty gas turbine," Ai added.

Heavy-duty gas turbines, the core equipment for power plants, are known as the "crown pearls" in the manufacturing industry in China.

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China ships its first F-class heavy-duty gas turbine